Avatar A Legend in Progress
by Blade8821
Summary: Have you ever wondered what Avatar would be like, if a firebender joined the gang a little earlier? See the story of Avatar told from the point of view of a lowly mercenary, whose dumb luck gets him pulled into the adventure of a lifetime! Expect deadpan, sarcastic humor, fun, laughs, maybe some romance on the side, and plenty of excitement. Rated M for language and security.
1. Chapter 1

**First Arc; Making Friends with a Legend**

**Who says merc life is easy?**

My standard form of writing applies.

" " - Spoken

' ' - Thought(Usually in _italics_)

( ) - Commentary. The perspective of a lowly mercenary. Quite funny, if you've got a very dry, morbid sense of humor.(PS; Contains 80% Sarcasm, and 20% MSG)

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

_**My friends, I, too, am an Avatar fan. It was a show I spent much time watching whenever I spent time with my girlfriend and her little brother, so I have finally decided(Again my better judgement, and the advice of legal councel) to write a fic based in the Avatar(Last airbender, not the wierd-ass movie with the blue people) universe.**_

_**As with ALL of my works, this is rated M for insurance. Get used to it. **_

_**I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING COPYRIGHTED FROM HERE ONWARD. BEWARE!**_

_**UPDATED!**_

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

#1 First one up. Let's knock some heads, people!

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

And so... There I was... Combatting the most dangerous enemy I had ever faced...

"So... We meet again..." I stared him down, willing every ounce of anger within my very soul into my glare...

I prepared for combat-

_"RED! Quit yer goldbrickin' an' git back ta work!"_

"Ah, yes ma'am!"

...And so, I began scrubbing again, hoping to rid the world of moldy, caked-on fish paste.

Ah. Sorry. I guess that first bit had you goin, eh? Well, too bad, mate. I am not facing a deadly adversary... Though that might be preferred. For you see, I, am washing dishes.

Oh, right. Sorry, you don't know who I am. I am, Lee. But everyone calls me Red. Probably because I'm always wearing red. And my eyes; they're red. But I prefer the term crimson. Fits better.

Anyway. I'm a mercenary; Professional soldier. Sellsword. Hireling. Soldier of fortune. Hitman. Muscle. Security. Bodyguard, what have you. Same shit, different name.

As I was saying... I am but a humble mercenary. Hm? You can't see through this thick cloak? Well, I'm tall, obviously. Around 5'11. Strong, handsome, skilled, drop-dead sexy, and-

_"RED! GET YOUR ASS BACK TO WORK!"_

Aye yai yai! How does she always know... Old bat. Well, long story short, I'm a soldier without an army, fighting for the highest bidder. I used to be a solider in the Fire Nation Army, but...

Well. That's a tale for another time. All you need to know, is that the sword on my back isn't for looks. It's a battle-forged tool of destruction. A five-foot monster that can cleave a dragon's head clean off in a single stroke.

Said so right in the description. Heheh.

Sooo. Why am I, mercenary badass extraordinair, working as a humble busboy in some backwater restaurant? Well...

I can't work for the Fire Nation anymore, not after what happened. And I most certainly don't want to work for them anyway, with the way they're scorching everything they can get to...

But I can't work probono. And the Earth Kingdom just won't pay for my work unless I join as a regular.

Which gets shit pay, and no benefits. No, thank you.

Water tribes are also a bust. No blood, no join. And since I'm not an eskimo, I'm boned.

...Don't even get me started on the Air Temples. There's nothing left of those poor bastards... Hasn't been for a century. Can't even get to one of 'em unless you can fly.

That leaves rinkidink freelancer groups. Which get slaughtered by the thousands. Nuh-uh.

Y'see, I try for more... High profile jobs. Ones that get mucho pesos. A lotta coin. Big bucks. But, the local lords already have big-name buff bodyguards, so I'm left in the lurch, scrounging for food.

And I'm right here in this dung heap of a port village until I can figure out a new plan, or at least a new destination. Since this place has no bandit problems, I'm left working odd jobs for a group of pirates just to eat. Hell, the only thing remotely close to being a problem is the pirates themselves, but they've been wonderous people. They brought goods from other places, bartering all sorts of odds and ends.

Even a whistle for skybisen. Though it's not like it would do much good to anyone now. And, now that I mention it... I thought I heard someone just say they'd purchased it. Hm.

Anyway.

The only issue with them is that they get especially loud and rowdy at night when they get to drinking, but there's been no violence.

...Unfortunately.

But, that's about it. Some friendly pirates, a local who won't shut up about his cabbages, and absolutely nothing else going on.

Now you know what my life is like.

So much for being a badass...

*Sigh*

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

**Now switching to Red's(Lee's) Point of view**

*Click*

I glanced at my reflection in the water.

Red eyes, light skin, handsome features... Scar across the throat, the cheek, my right eye...

Long, dark hair. Hm. I'm so pretty, I could almost pass for a girl.

...If I weren't so damn badass looking, heheh. I look 17 years old, (but I'm a helluva lot older than I look) I'm a mercenary, and there's a huuuge war going on. I should be happy. Ecstatic. I've got a means to make a great living, and yet I'm stuck here washing dishes.

I sigh again, wondering when I'll be able to leave this dead-end hellhole...

Quite suddenly, I hear a commotion outside. Like, LOUD commotion. Hm?

I turn, stepping outside to see what's going on.

...Nani?

There stand three children,(Two teens, one kid) looking decisively frightened, standing off against the entire pirate crew.

Huh. Wonder what those idiots've done gotten themselves into...

As I moved a bit closer, drying my hands as I went, something caught my eye. Two of those children were wearing water tribe clothes... Hm. And...

That kid, the youngest one... He had a blue arrow tattoo on his head. Strange... Those are-

...!

Airbender tattoos... That means...

Ah... The Avatar.

Before I could come to a decision on what to do, the three kids took off, running as far away from the pirates as they could. Hmm... If he's the Avatar, and an airbender... Then his spirit animal would be a skybison. That explains the whistle. And if they're running in that direction-

Then their bison is in the opposite direction, ne? They wouldn't lead their pursuers straight to camp... Right?

"RED!" The captain shouted, bringing me from my musings.

"Ah, yeah, boss?" He pays me for odd jobs every now and again, mostly when he needs something that only a 'Land-lubber' such as myself can help with, like modern land army strategy, or non-beach camp assaults. But now? He just calls me when he needs a dirty job done, or when he needs something done _right_ the first time. I just work for the old hag for a slightly more steady source of income.

Shame the prick captain won't hire a 'land-lubber' onto his crew. Says it'd be bad luck. He's just being cheap, if you ask me.

"Get after those thieves!" I gave him a thumbs up, turning, and dashing in the opposite direction the kids had ran. I already carried my belongings on me; if what I had in mind came to pass, then I wouldn't need to return.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Now... If I were on the run from the Fire Nation, where would I set up camp?... Two of them were from the Wate Tribe... So someplace near water. Freshwater would be preferable for fishing...

Hmm...

I ran out of town, into the forest, following along the water's edge. Now, there has to be someplace within two miles where the water enters the sea.

Where, oh where...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

It took eight minutes to find a smaller river, and I started following it upstream. Now... It is merely a matter of time.

Hm? I came to the rough, sheer face of a cliff, at least a good eighty feet up. Above my head, I could hear another, larger waterfall.

...Lovely. up we go.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"Ngh...Angh...Agh, Ah..." I laid hand on the top, and began pulling my heavy ass up. Eesh, I can barely afford to feed myself and I _still _haven't lost any weight.

Man, that is some fucked up shit.

I finally got high enough and swung a leg up, rolling myself up onto the top. Hm?

Up ahead was a massive pool of water at the base of a waterfall. A small clearing had three bedrolls on it, suggesting someone used this place for a campsite. However...

The real giveaway was the gigantic, fuzzy monster lounging in the water. Huh. Wish I could say I _haven't _seen wierder shit in my time, but I have.

I slowly approached the beast, idly wondering if it had sharp teeth... I haven't heard much about them, except they can fly, and are commonly associated with the Air Nomads, not to mention the past Avatars.

No more than twenty paces, and the monster flipped itself, roaring as it glared at me.

**"GrrrRRROOOOAAAAGGGHHHH!" **

...Ow. Ears are ringing. "Whoa, whoa, easy, mate. I mean you no harm..."

It continued growling, slowly advancing on me. Not good. Now how to deal with large animals... Show no fear, but do not provoke them.

I stood my ground, hands kept in plain sight.

"Easy, fluffy... Your friends are in trouble. I'm just trying to help."

I don't know if the creature understood english, but it stopped, giving me a closer inspection... Before moving closer, and it started... Sniffing me?

...Closely followed by licking me from toe-to-bandana. Yuck

"Eugh... Thanks. Needed a bath anyway..." I grumbled, rubbing the beast's head. Great, now I'm covered in bison-drool. Yuck.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

After a quick dip in the water, followed by my use of an ancient technique passed down for centuries on how to dry clothes instantly, I went over to the small campsite, rolling and lifting the bedrolls, tossing them up onto the herbivore's saddle.(Hey, interesting fact. It had large, wide, flat teeth; common trait of grass-eaters)

With deft precision, I hopped up onto said saddle, moving towards the end where its head was. "Alright, I don't suppose you would happen to be able to track the Avatar? 'Cuz as far as I know, they were in town and it'd be mighty nice if you could-"

Something rustled in the nearby bushes, catching my immediate attention.

"Shit, search party's here already." I hopped down, drawing my blade, quickly scanning the area for some sort of cover... Fighting those pirates in the open is NOT an option at this point.

Before I could see anything useful, something started coming out of those bushes...

"...To look up to pirates, but those guys are just terrible." A young boy's voice remarked, just as a bald young boy wearing orange and yellow stepped out of the forest, a staff in his hand.

"I know, which is why I-" A decidedly feminine voice responded, before she was interrupted by a young but faintly masculine voice interrupted.

"Look out! One of those pirates!" ...Points for effort, but his voice cracked. Huh.

A young man with a dark tan and a ponytail stepped in front of a girl with similar skin tone, pulling a club from a sort of satchel in his back. The girl took a crude stance with one hand on a water skin, but the youngest one... He looked thoughtful.

"Easy, kid, stand down. I mean you no harm." Planting my sword in the ground, I splayed my hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"No way. You're wearing Fire Nation robes." Hm. He was definately Water Tribe, but... Not from the North. His clothing and weapon was different. Southern Water Tribe, perhaps? And he recognized that my robes are Fire Nation-made. He's smarter than he looks.

"That they are, but I've no affiliation with the Fire Nation military, nor the Firelord."

"We can't trust him..." The girl commented, loosening the cork on that water skin... Hmm... She must be a waterbender. Judging from her crude stance, she is self-taught.

"We can." For the second time, the young boy spoke, walking towards me.

"What?! How can we?! He's-" Before the dork could get further he was interrupted by the young airbender.

"Appa trusted him. If he meant us harm, Appa would've attacked him and flown off by now. Look." He pointed towards the skybison's saddle. "He even placed our belongings on his saddle. If this man was a thief, he would've tried to make off with them, and if he were with the pirates or the Fire Nation, he would've attacked already."

I smiled, bringing my hands together as I bowed. "You show great wisdom, Avatar. It is an honor to meet you." As I straightened, I saw the boy returning my bow, as the other two looked surprised.

"How...?" The older boy started, blinking.

"He is an airbender, judging by those tattoos, and he is accompanied by a skybison, the spirit animal of the airbenders. Neither of which has been seen in nearly a hundred years, since the beginning of the war. And since the current Avatar is an airbender... It's a relatively easy deduction."

The Avatar grinned. "It seems I'm not the only one who shows great wisdom. I'm Aang, and these two are my friends. Katara," The girl nodded, now slightly more relaxed. "And Sokka, her brother." The boy, Sokka, adopted the expression of a platapus-bear sitting on a thistle... Hm.

"My name is Lee, though most everyone just calls me Red. Judging from your clothing, you two are from the Water Tribe... Southern, if I'm not mistaken. Miss Katara, are you by chance a waterbender?"

She looked surprised, but nodded. "I thought you were. You taught yourself, didn't you?" Again, her eyes widened, but she nodded.

"Yes... I'm the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. I had no one to teach me, so I taught myself." I offered a kind smile.

"Very impressive. Learning bending without a teacher is a great feat, indeed. I've encountered several waterbenders from the Nothern Tribe in my travels; would you like to hear what I've seen?" She beamed, nodding excitedly.

"Very well. However... Could we move to a more secure location, first? Whatever you three did has really pissed off the pirates' captain. Just what did you do, anyway?" Aang and Sokka both shrugged, whereas the girl took on a devilish grin.

And reached into one of her sleeves, pulling out a scroll. "Nothing much... Just relieved them of this." I blinked. Aha. So she nicked that old waterbending scroll... No wonder the skipper had steam coming out his ears.

I smirked at that thought. "Heh, well that explains a few things. We'd better get moving." Turning, I took no more then three steps before Sokka called after me.

"Wait. Not until you tell us why you're wearing those robes." Ah, that brat...

I looked back, quirking an eyebrow. "I used to be a soldier in the Fire Nation army, before a disagreement with my commanding officer lead to my immediate dismissal and execution. As you can see... They failed." Turning back, I hopped up onto Appa's back, climbing into the saddle and sheathing my sword.

The three of them shrugged, before joining me, as Aang called out, "Yip yip!"

...And the skybison took off into the air.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Hmm... For my first time flying, I'm just happy I'm not puking my guts up. Sitting here waiting for Aang to set us down at a less accessible location, Sokka pestered me with questions.

"Just what 'disagreement' did you have?"

"Hm? Oh. I refused to kill civillians, as I don't believe in a scortched-earth policy during war. I ordered my men to stand down and allowing those who were fleeing to escape, and cut down anyone under my command who looted, pillaged, or raped the citizens during our advance. I was just a young lieutenant at the time... And my general had been disgraced, before being replaced by some uppity punk who thought that if you weren't born in the Fire Nation, you didn't have any rights as a human being." I reached up, tapping the scar across my throat.

"They attempted to behead me... Unfortunately for them, they failed. I escaped the Fire Nation some three years ago, and have been a wandering mercenary ever since." Sokka tilted his head, looking more and more like a duck-billed ferret.

"But why help us? If you're anywhere near the Avatar, you'll attract more attention to yourself, and bring the Fire Nation's might down on your head. They're actively looking for us already." I nodded, understanding his reasoning.

"I've no love for the corrupt Firelord, nor his warmongering generals. The way I see things... The Avatar is the world's greatest chance of ending this war with minimal bloodshed. And I'll be damned if I'm going to send a child to fight an army if I don't have the balls to help him do it."

He blinked, still staring at me... More particularly, my scars. Although...

"...You said you encountered waterbenders... You mean you fought them as a soldier." Katara accused, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

I shook my head. "No. I fought on the Earth Nation front under the Dragon of the West. I hadn't even met a waterbender until I got tossed into the sea during a storm... It was a waterbender who dredged my sorry ass outta the water. She mended my injuries, and we traveled together for a short while..." I looked up, remembering that beauty's face... Ah... I still miss her.

"...What happened?" The girl asked, looking more apprehensive than before.

"...We ran into a Fire Nation ambush. We were both captured and detained at their camp, seperately. ...By the time I escaped, they'd already had their way with her and burned every inch of her flesh... With her last breath, she begged me to end her life."

Both Water Tribe members looked appalled and tearful. "...Why... Why would they do that?"

"...I honestly do not know. But to this day... That entire stretch of land is nothing but charcoal." With bitter resentment in my heart, I didn't notice my slight slip of the tongue.

...That memory hurts so much inside... As if my heart is being crushed within my chest. Not a single one of those motherfuckers lived to see dawn... Not one.

"...It was burned to ashes?" Hm?

"Yes. Nothing was left." What was he... Oh. Ohhh, shit. I just had to go and open my big damn mouth...

"...How did you do that?" His face was scrunched up with suspicion. Damn, he's quick on the uptake.

Quick, think of something! "Blasting jelly. There was a depot of the stuff... And no one noticed when I mixed it into the food. One spark... Such as when someone heated up his own meal with firebending... _Boom_. Even with an entire company of soldiers, there wasn't enough left of them to fill a bucket."

Sokka shivered at the ice in my voice, just as Aang called back to us, "Hey! I've found a place where we can practice!"

Sweet, interogation's over.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

We set down at a spot much further up the river, climbing down and setting up a small camp along the riverside. I removed my pack, dropping it and my baldric near where the others did.

...Kinda felt naked without it, but it was overtop of my robes, and it was mighty warm out, regardless.

"Could you help us figure this out, Red? And Sokka, would you mind fetching some firewood?" Katara asked, dropping her bedroll and opening that scroll of hers, strolling towards the river.

Sokka started grumbling, heading in the direction of the nearest trees. I shrugged, moving over to the pair of benders.

"Is there anything you'd like to know?" I'm trying to be polite, at the very least.

"Yeah, do you recognise any of these forms?" She held up the scroll, turning it so I could read what was on it.

Hmm... Water whip, octopus, ice shield, and... Wave riding. Hm. "Some of them, though I've more experience with the healing arts of waterbending than the martial aspect. Before you learn new techniques, I would advise you to perfect your current form, first." She frowned, tilting her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Your stance is weak, showing your lack of discipline, and your form is crude, which tells me you had no formal teacher. Show me your stance, and we'll go from there." She blinked, but switched into her combat stance.

...Man, she really is just a backwater eskimo... Ah, well. Guess we'll start from scratch. "Hmm... Aang, do you see what I see?" The young Avatar blinked, tilting his head as he looked over Katara's body...

...I swear, I saw her shiver, but she said nothing. "Umm... No? What do you see?"

"Weakness, anxiety, and tenacity. That last one is good, but the other two need to go. Katara, remain still." I moved behind her, gripping her shoulders. "Lean further forward, towards your opponent. You mustn't lean away from them, lest you telegraph fear."

I stuck my foot between hers, kicking them apart. "Widen your stance, and bend your knees. This will give you a more stable platform, and make it more difficult for your enemy to knock you down. Turn your body just slightly, to present your opponent with a smaller target. Now, the principle of waterbending is fluidity; flow with each and every attack, and remain open-minded to everything going on around you. Waterbending is the most versatile of the four elements, allowing for many different uses. So long as you yet breathe, you'll always have access to water."

I moved back around her, taking another look at her form... Much better now, but far from perfect. Now all that remained was for her to accumulate experience to figure the rest out on her own.

"Is there anything you can tell me about the other elements?" ...Huh?

I turned, facing the young boy who asked me that question. He couldn't be a day over thirteen... The Avatar, and he wants my help on bending?...Geeze. I guess he hadn't had the time to master the elements... Somehow. It's been, what, a hundred years? Eesh, can't wait to hear that excuse...

"Hmm... You've mastered airbending, I hope. I've no information on them. You heard my take on waterbending already... Earthbending revolves around stalwart resolve, to be as unbending and unforgiving as the stone you move. Pure pigheadedness. Firebending... Is based on emotion, and self-control. One must be able to keep their temper in check, otherwise you're liable to accidentally burn yourself or others. When firebending, anger should be a catalyst, but never your drive." That about sums it up. Condensed, of course.

Aang, frowned, tilting his head. "Huh..."

"Now I have a question for you, Aang. Why is the Avatar asking a non-bender for bending advice?" He looked somewhat sheepish, but responded honestly.

"For the last hundred years, I've been encased in an iceberg. When I woke up, I found out that the Fire Nation has been waging war on the world, and that I have to master all four elements by the end of summer." I blinked. Eh?

"Summer's end? Why such a tight time limit?" Summer... Why then...

"That's when Sozin's comet returns." Sozin's...

...!

OH SHIT.

"...You know it, then." Damn, kid's smart.

"Aye... The excuse Ozai's grandfather used to start the war. As far as I've heard... It magnifies the power of every firebender tenfold. Something like that... Would mean the complete destruction of both the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe. Hmm..."

Ah... What to do... What to do... Damnit...

"...I don't know anything more of it, I'm sorry to say. It just means we'll have to train hard and plan thoroughly." For now... Nothing.

"Hey," Sokka. He's finally back with firewood, I suppose. I turned to face him. "Why do you still wear those robes if you're no longer with the Fire Nation?" Hm?

"They're made from the fur of the fire rat, and are nearly impervious to flames. It's stronger than most conventional armor, as well. I saw no reason to discard a valuable piece of equipment that saved my ass countless times out of sheer pride and arrogance. If your enemy gives you an advantage, you take it and make it your own." A wise piece of advice, whether they realised it or not.

"Fire rat...? Never heard of it." All three of them shrugged, looking baffled.

"They were prevelant a few centuries past, and were hunted to extinction along with the dragons. This robe once belonged to a noble, whose home I, ah, took a shortcut through during my escape. I happened along these by accident when I hid in his wife's closet."

...There was a strange silence for a few moments...

"...In her closet?"

I blinked. "Yes. I owed her a favor or two, and she sent the soldiers to search elsewhere, saying that a criminal wouldn't dare to desecrate her personal belongings. ...Not that _that _stopped me from desecrating the personal parts of her person, when she called in that favor. Heheheh." I smirked fondly at that memory, idly wondering how she and her husband are getting along now... She's probably still dissatisfied, yearning for a young lover who will hold and cherish her. Hm. I wonder how her daughter is doing... What was her name? Mei... Mel... Mai... Something with an M. Gloomy little brat.

Sokka's jaw dropped. "You WHAT?!" ...Ow.

"Thank you, I was only partially deaf before, but now it's completely gone. Thanks for that. She helped me on a few previous occasions, and was a good friend. I spent some time as her personal guard, and we grew, ah, close. When she heard about my execution and escape, she left her window open that night, giving me the opportunity to slip in and hide from my pursuers. Then she called in the favor I owed her, and threw me down upon her bed. I'm certain you can figure out what happened from there, but I can give a rather detailed recollection, if you'd prefer." ...My snarky sense of humor and deadpan delivery probably astounded the young man, judging by the perverted gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, please!" Both he and... The Avatar, announced, much to the girl's chagrin.

"NO! We're fine without a play-by-play, thank you!" I chuckled at her indignant blush, oddly reminded of Nao's first reaction when I complimented her form in the bath... Heheheh, but she recovered quickly, daring me to join her. I don't think she expected me to actually follow through on that order, however.

...The look on her face was... Priceless.

"Very well. Another time, perhaps, eh guys?" ...Cue two preverted grins, and one very annoyed, blushing eskimo girl.

Heheh, this might turn out to be fun after all.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

_**If you can find the Inuyasha refrence in this chapter, kudos to you. **_

_**There is also a stealth Mass Effect shout-out in here, too, for my die-hard ME fans, particularly those who have read my ME fic.**_

_**Now, I am currently SWAMPED by other things, and I only posted this because I had three chapters already done, so I'm posting this just to see if y'all would like it. Don't expect it to get updated very often, I'm sorry. My Mass Effect fic has top priority, closely followed by my Resident Evil REwrite and Naruto fics.**_

_**I hereby apologize in advance for the slowness of updates for this story. **_


	2. Chapter 2

**First Arc; Making Friends with a Legend**

**Who says merc life is easy?**

My standard form of writing applies.

" " - Spoken

' ' - Thought(Usually in _italics_)

( ) - Commentary. The perspective of a lowly mercenary. Quite funny, if you've got a very dry, morbid sense of humor.(PS; Contains 80% Sarcasm, and 20% MSG)

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

#2 One down, a million to go!

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

An entire day spend training... Eesh, the girl's a real amateur, too. She's got talent, but damn is she hardheaded. If she'd stow that stubborn ass of hers, she'd learn much faster. But on the other hand... Aang is a real natural. He picks up on the little things, and has an eye for attention to detail, not to mention he can take constructive critiscism and keep going strong. That's why he's an airbender, I suppose. Nitpickers.

From what I've seen of the other one, Sokka... He's a bit of a blockhead who keeps putting his foot in his mouth. If not for that, he's a pretty good kid. Real smart, too, just lacks experience. I'd say he's the one and only sane man I've met in a good while; kinda refreshing to find someone who's unluckier and more miserable than I am.

But, I digress. As night descended, Katara and Sokka went over by the water to fish for dinner; Aand went out to collect berries, nuts, and other edible goodies for himself and Momo, the flying lemur they have hanging around.

Sokka had dropped the firewood in a pile at the center of our little camp circle, along with a few rocks to keep it from spreading to the grass. Hmm...

I glanced up, towards where the Water Tribe duo were fishing... Their backs were to me. Appa was facing the other direction... And Aang shouldn't be back for a few minutes...

Alright. I knelt by the firewood, moving some aside to burn later, placing the rest over some particularly dry leaves for kindling.

Focus my mind... Build the power, and direct it...

With a snap of my fingers, a small flame lit just on the end of my thumb, as I held it to the kindling for a few moments...

Once it caught, I quickly cut the flow, gently blowing on the flames...

It took only a handfull of seconds before we had a nice fire going. Heh, and who says firebending is merely a way to destroy? Heheheheheheh.

"Whoa!" Whoa! Shit!

I turned, glancing towards where the voice originated from, unconsciencely reaching for my knife...

Aang stood behind me, an amazed look on his face. "Wow! You got the fire started that fast? It takes Sokka nearly an hour to get it going!" I relaxed, edging my hand away from my belt.

"Really? Well, I suppose it's good I'm here, then. Shall I cook, as well?"

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

An hour later, we were chowing down on fish filets, lightly spiced with salt, basil, and rosemary. I keep a small parcel of spices handy for cooking on my journies, and it's kept me sane many a night.

"Mmm! This is really good!" The waterbender crowed, thoroughly pleased by this simple offering.

Inclining my head, "Thank you. I'll try to keep our mealtimes from becoming dull and repetitive."

"That's a nice sword, you've got there. Doesn't look Fire Nation... Where'd you come across it?" Sokka chimed in, eyeballing my blade.

"Hm? Well, it was the pride and joy of a master blacksmith, named the Dragonslayer, so called since it was used by a legendary firebender to kill several of the beasts... When that hero died, the weapon was returned to the smith, while he waited for someone worthy to take it up in the name of the Fire Nation. As a child, I toiled in the forge of that smith, working as his assisstant. When I came of age and left to join the army, he gifted that blade to me from his deathbed, instructing me to bring balance back to the world... And he gave me this."

I reached into my shirt, pulling out the runite chain I had hanging from my neck. Dangling from it...

Was a pai sho tile; the white lotus.

"Huh? A... Game piece?" Sokka was understandably puzzled, as was I.

"A white lotus pai sho tile...?" Aang knew what it was, though I don't think he understands the significance of it... Then again, neither did I, for many years. It wasn't until the general told me that I finally understood... Somewhat.

"Mmm... At the time, I thought he was finally going senile, but I learned something about it later on... Although I'm still not entirely sure of its significance, other than that it will '_Reveal powerful allies, when the time is right.' _It will make sense when the time comes, I suppose."

"Huh."

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

That night... I slept the same as always. Restless, tossing and turning, constantly wondering, worrying...

"Ah... June..."

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"I still say we should be more careful. They nearly caught us earlier today, since we flew yesterday. So I suggest we walk this time, at least for a few days." Sokka was trying to get us to go the safe way, to avoid being tracked so easily.

Hmm...

"Yeah, but it'll take forever to get around. At least flying, we can outrun anyone following us." Aang frowned, disputing the eskimo's suggestion.

"Actually... Moving on foot for a day or two would give us an advantage. Using the trees as cover, we could gain a massive headstart over our pursuers, and perhaps we could lose them entirely." I threw in my two cents, and that's about all I've got to say on the subject.

...Needless to say, we soon found ourselves walking through the trees, Appa slowly following close behind.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"Hey... Don't those look like-"

Sokka was indicating a small patch of leaves with several berries and nuts lying in the center, looking like a textbook example of a trap.

"...I wouldn't go near those if I were you." Aang stopped short, turning to look at me.

Just before that flying rat jumped on those berries, triggering a classic Fire Nation flying cage trap. Man... That thing is dumber than a giant coy.

After Aang cut down Momo and a pair of baboon... Things, myself and Sokka took a closer look at the traps...

"...Fire Nation. The metalwork is a dead giveaway."

"Aye, mass-produced crap; cast and heat-treated steel. Standard-issue to recon teams. There's a camp nearby... All of you. Store your packs on Appa, we might need to make a quick getaway. Now let's get moving before a patrol comes by." I stood, taking a quick glance around...

Yeah... Their camp must be less than a mile away. Not good...

And we'd better be careful, since the last thing we need to do is...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

...Blindly walk straight into the center of their camp. Great.

As we stood, locking gazes with two dozen Fire Nation soldiers, I said, "Alright... Next time, Sokka's instincts, I'll lead, you follow."

"Just shut up and RUN!"

The three of us turned tail and started hauling ass, just in time for the leader of the troup to blast the bushes we'd come through, blocking our exit...

"You're not going anywhere..."

Great...

I turned and drew my blade, switching into my stance. "You're right... But all of you are going straight to hell. Move!"

I rushed the enemy, ducking and jumping over their heads, landing in a couch. Before they even reacted, I spun as I shot to my feet, impaling the closest target...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

I took down five or six, before I noticed several enemies were getting hit with arrows, just before all hell broke loose. Something small and fast came down from the trees, landing smack dab on top of a trooper, and spun his helmet around backwards. Heheh, some dumb kid...

Then some guy with a pair of hookswords swung down, wreaking havoc on the disorganised, panicking Fire Nation soldiers. He was joined by a bear of a man swinging a log around as if it were a toy, then by an androgynous character whirling around with a pair of daggers...

Hm. Freelancers, perhaps? Mercenaries, like myself?

...No... None of them have had formal training, judging by their hodgepodge fighting styles...

No... These people were rebels. Freedom fighters.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

It took a mere eight minutes to route every enemy soldier. We'd won; their camp was now ours. Around our feet lay fourteen bodies... None of them ours.

"Hey!" I turned, flicking the blood from my sword.

"Yes?" This young man... Fifteen, sixteen at the oldest. He was scrawny, and had a pair of hookswords. A rare weapon, these days. Crude as it was, his style of fighting was very effective.

"You guys fought pretty well. So you're enemies of the Fire Nation, too?"

I gave a curt nod, shifting my feet to face him. "Aye, we're no friends of the imperial forces. Who're you?"

He smiled. He had the look of a politician about him. "My name's jet, and these are my freedom fighters." He went through the brief introduction, giving us names and a face to connect each one to. Although, they were pretty easy to distinguish, since each name was distinct to its owner.

After he gave his story about who they were and why they were fighting, I responded with, "Hm. So, you and your ragtag group are the local resistance of this area... Very well. Aang," I turned, facing our illustrious leader. "What we do from here is your call."

The kid looked surprised for a moment, and was about to answer, but when Jet got a closer look, his eyes bulged and that stem of wheat he'd been chewing on fell from nerveless lips. "You... You're the Avatar..."

...Things went about as expected from there.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

We went along with the 'Freedom Fighters' and made it to their hideout. It was... A monkey's paradise. Even had a crude dummy-waiter system, for pulling people up topside.

As we all sat down eating, I remarked, "A fortress in the treetops... Impressive, especially for children."

Jet frowned, slightly. "Just because we're young doesn't make us worthless. And you shouldn't talk, you're not that much older than any of us."

I tilted my head, confused. "Huh...? Uh, just how old do you think I am?"

...Just about everyone was staring at me, most of 'em saying "Sixteen."

"Nineteen."

"Seventeen?"

...

I blinked again. "...Not even close. I'm twenty-six."

Jaws _dropped._ "...There is no way." Katara replied, thoroughly shocked.

"Yeah, right..." Sokka rolled his eyes, sarcastic as always.

"I'd believe it. I'm a hundred and twelve." Aang said, upbeat as always.

...

"...You're the Avatar, you're the exception that proves the rule."

...Lovely. They think I'm a bloody kid.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

After another restless night, and having to suffer through Katara and Jet's flirting, I was fully on-board with Sokka's foul mood as we moved through the forest, setting up an ambush along one of the paths frequently used by the soldiers. I didn't mind helping out, since they'd fed me the night before, but something was off... I just couldn't say what it was.

Anyway...

I was up in one of the trees alongside the Water Tribe boy, as we looked out for enemy soldiers.

Then he did something odd... Stabbed his knife into the tree, and cupped his hands around it, placing his ear to it...

...?

He listened for several moments, then said, "Roughly three hundred metres... One person, walking alone, headed this way."

"Huh...? How can you...?"

"The vibrations in the ground. The metal amplifies them." Aha.

"Neat trick... I'll have to remember that. " Hm. So I learned something new, today... Not an entire waste, after all.

I brought my hands up, making a bird call, which was returned a few seconds later from the other group. Hm. Now, we wait for whichever poor bastard was walking alone out here...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Took a good few minutes, but we spotted him. An old guy, tottering along, humming to himself. Huh.

"Ah, well... Looks like the village elder... Hm? ...Uh, why are Jet and his group getting ready to drop down on the poor sod...?"

Sokka shrugged, as we watched on with growing apprehension. This would not end well...

...

As expected, Jet and the big guy, Pipsqueek, dropped down, as the scrawny teen tripped the old man, knocking away his cane.

"What're you doing in our woods, you leech?"

I glanced at Sokka, as he did the same. We both nodded, and dropped down ourselves, jogging over to where the so-called 'freedom fighter' was picking on an old man and stealing his bag.

"You like destroying towns? Huh?! You like destroying-" I caught his wrist before he could strike the fallen civillian.

"ENOUGH." With enough pure force of personality, one can halt nearly anything. Nearly.

"What the hell are you doing?! He's just an old man!" Sokka chimed in, a concerned, wary expression in his features.

Jet snatched his arm out of my grasp. "He's Fire Nation! And you! You are too, aren't you?!"

I merely brushed past Jet, effortlessly shoving the bear of a man off of the fallen traveller. "I _**was**__._ But I am still a soldier, not some brigand like you. Fighting the enemy is one thing, but lashing out against civillians, regardless of their nationality, is unforgiveable! Why do you think people hate the Fire Nation so much? It's because of tactics like this! Retaliating with the same methods makes you no better than they are! You can not extinguish fire with fire, and you do not fight hate with more hate."

I pulled the old man to his feet, just before I spun and stared down the overzealous brat in question. "Tell me, _freedom fighter,_ what makes you any different than those soldiers? Because the way I see it, you're doing the exact same thing, fighting on the other side."

I moved closer, poking him in the chest once or twice, using my height to my advantage, making him backpedal to avoid getting knocked on his ass. This was also a distraction, allowing the old man to get out of there while he could. "You might not always be able to win through honorable means, but when fighting a monster, you must be sure not to become one yourself. I had to learn that the hard way, so you'd better un_fuck_ yourself, or you will, too."

Once I got my point across, I shoved past him, heading back in the direction of the treetop hideout, figuring I'd better cool off otherwise I'm liable to knock some sense into the idiot. Probably more than necessary.

Bonus, though; Sokka noticed the old guy sneak away, and was chuckling as we walked back, remarking, "That was pretty profound. Was that a spur of the moment, or did you get that lecture yourself?"

"I overheard my general chewing out a couple'a hyped up grunts a few years back. I memorized it, figuring it'd come in handy someday. Damned if I wasn't right."

"Huh."

We went the rest of the way in companionable silence.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

We'd gotten back and been there for a few hours before Jet and his crew returned. I made sure to keep my distance, otherwise my temper might get the better of me. Not a good thing, considering we were in a very flammable enviornment. I've trained hard to keep my... Gift, under control, but even I can't subvert my own nature.

I skipped out on dinner, and spent much of my time meditating, trying to focus my energy elsewhere, keeping my attention away from Jet and his banditry.

Course, I wasn't able to do so for long, before I was disturbed.

"...Is there anything you do besides train?" A decidedly feminine voice asked, breaking my focus, making my next swing just slightly imperfect...

"This is how I meditate... Need my body to stay in practice, while focusing on nothing more than how to swing my blade. It keeps my skills sharp... And I find it oddly calming. Is there something you require, Katara?"

Turning, I lowered my blade, taking in her form...

She was wearing her usual attire, leaning against the trunk of the great tree we were in. "I just thought it was strange... Both you and Sokka are avoiding Jet, and my brother started packing his things, telling us we needed to leave soon. But he didn't mention what made him want to leave."

"Hmph. That boy you're so interested in... Jet. He's a thug, prejudiced against anyone in the Fire Nation. I can't hold that against him, but he attacked an unarmed old man, and I'll not condone injury to civillians."

"What?! Jet would never do that!" She cried, outraged.

"...Wouldn't he? How do you know? You haven't known him long enough to tell. ...Bah, believe what you want, girl. I'm not going to argue with you over it. If that is all, I'd like to return to my routine." I turned away, retaking my stance, timing my breathing, my heartbeat...

...I paid her no mind as she stormed off. No point dealing with an emotional, hormonal teenage girl at this point. She won't believe anything that disagrees with her preconceptions at this point.

...Nor anything her vagina disagrees with. Bah, dumb horny girl.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Some time later... Long after the sun had set, I finished my meditation, and moved back to where the others were, just in time for Katara to call me name, along with Sokka's.

...?

I followed the sound, meeting up with the Water Tribe boy just outside one of the hut/tents.

We walked inside, and found Katara waiting for us...

Accompanied by Aang and Jet.

Great. I know I'm just gonna LOVE what the punk's got to say for himself...

"Katara, Aang, whatever Sokka and Red have told you is partially true... But the man was Fire Nation. And not a civillian..." Jet was sitting on a bunk, and reached behind it... Pulling up a large knife, holding it out for us to see. "...He was an assassin, sent to eliminate me. Even had a vial of poison hidden inside it."

...

Something about this did NOT add up. The old man was definately not trained in the use of that type of weapon... That's a fighting knife, Fire-Nation made. The old man's hands weren't calloused for that sort of weapon... Plus he didn't have the musculature to even use it properly.

Not to mention... He hadn't had a place to hide it. In that bag Jet's subordinate took? No... It was too flexible for that, and too small for the weapon to fit any other way. They never had a chance to search the rest of him, either.

"...Jet, you can stop lying."

"What?!" He snapped, glaring at me.

"That man was no assassin... If he was, you'd already be dead, as would I. He had six opportunities to kill both of us, none of which he took. And he couldn't have had that weapon in his bag; it's too large to be concealed properly, and it isn't an assassin's weapon of choice, regardless. A trained assassin will use the smallest blade he can to get the job done; that is a knife-fighter's weapon, and very difficult to conceal. Not to mention... it's newly made, and unused; he lacked the musculature to wield it, besides not having the telltale callouses of practicing with such a weapon. No assassin will use a weapon he isn't intimately familiar with, for job security. Based on all of that information, you are lying."

He was backpedalling, hard. Throw in the last nail?

"That aside... You have given me three tells that telegraph your dishonest intentions. You licked your lips twice, glanced at the floor five times, and ran your fingers over your knuckles seven times in the last two minutes. Three distinct nervous tics. You are also sweating profusely for such a moderate climate. Boy, you are ten years too early to try fooling me. Tell us your true intentions, and speak quickly before I lose my patience."

Years of training... Of being hunted, trusting no one, and fighting for my very existance... Has taught me many things. Early on, I learned how to tell when people are bullshitting me. Had to, living as a mercenary.

However... Something odd occurred.

Jet sighed, and smiled. Actually SMILED. What the hell?

"Heh, man you're good. Yeah, you got me. But I have a reason, if I could get you to listen for a few minutes?"

...

I glanced to Aang, who looked wary, but he spoke. "Just tell us why you lied."

Jet nodded, looking calm... "The Fire Nation is going to burn this entire forest down, to smoke us out. I need your help to stop them, and I didn't know how to convince you to stay and help me, seeing as both Sokka and Red obviously disagree with my methods." Hm?

Strange... No untoward movement. Blinking at regular intervals, even breathing, sweating slowed, hands are still, and he's maintaining eye contact. Strange indeed...

Hmm...

Of those 24 soldiers we encountered, there were seven firebenders. That was a patrol, medium-weight. Three squads, set up in a small camp. That doesn't tell me much about the enemy presence for this area, however... But judging from how much blasting jelly they had, along with there being a village nearby, they just might have the resources to do that...

Agh... Not enough information...

"Aang, we can't let them burn down a forest!" Katara was, just like that, back to being Jet's fangirl. Grrreat.

You know just how this is gonna turn out, right?

That night... I slept uncomfortably as ever, but lightly. I didn't feel like waking to a knife between my shoulderblades... Not _again_.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

The next morning... I was woken by somone coming within five feet, at which point I was wide awake, my body in motion before my mind caught up, as I threw some poor schmuck to the floor, a pair of knives holding their neck in place.

"Agh, is this how you say good morning?!" I blinked. Whoops.

"Oh. Sorry, Aang." I removed my knives, returning them to their place within my cloak, pulling the boy Avatar to his feet.

"Are you always this twitchy?" He asked, rubbing his neck.

"Have to be, otherwise I wouldn't have lived this long. Just as a rule of thumb, wake me from a distance. Shout my name or something."

"...Were you expecting someone to attack you while you were asleep?" the boy asked, blinking.

"Specifically last night, or just in general?"

"Last night."

"Yes. Jet's sudden change from nervous wreck, to emotional rock is not normal. Frankly, I was expecting a knife between my shoulderblades. I do not know if the Fire Nation is planning to burn this place down, but he wasn't telling the full story... Be careful, Aang. Something about this isn't right." He nodded, and turned.

"He wants us to fill the reservoir... I don't know if there's something else, but we can at least give him a chance. If something's wrong, we take off."

I nodded. "Fair enough. Let's get moving... I'd rather get everything done and out of the way early."

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Jet lead the three of us to a section far up the local river, where several steamvents lined the riverbank. Then he asked Aang and Katara to bend the water from the ground, to fill up the reservoir.

...Something about this doesn't fit...

When he left, he told us to meet him back to the hideout to go over the rest of the plan. I sighed, cracking my neck. Wonder if I can't help these two out some...

While they worked, trying to bend water they couldn't see, I carefully breathed in, breathed out... Breathe in, breathe out...

Focus...

I could feel it... The heat within the earth, boiling the water...

...And if I focus my energy there... Raise the temperature even higher...

...

Within moments, the first steamvent turned into a geyser.

"WHOA!" Both waterbenders jumped out of the way of the scalding water, grinning.

"Awesome! Hey Katara, how did you get the water to move so much easier?"

"Me?... I though you did that." She frowned, puzzled.

...I calmly waltzed away, smiling. Heheh, they'll never figure that out.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

It took an hour's work, but we(And I do mean WE) got the water flowing, and we started off, intending to meet Jet at the dam, seeing as we finished early.

...That's when my brain finally caught up with me.

...Wait... He said to meet him at the hideout... Why would he...

...And we haven't seen Sokka all day...

...

"FUCK!" I cursed, drawing my sword, already moving.

"What?! What is it?!" Aang asked, looking around for an enemy I might've spotted.

"Jet is a worthless cockgargling little shit, is what! He's going to flood the village!"

"WHAT?!"

"Forget it, move! We need to stop him from murdering those people!" And off we went, hauling ass to the dam, intent on finding out if my hunch was right, and if he really wanted to kill all those people...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

...I hate it when I'm always right.

We got to the cliff overlooking the dam and the village. Sure enough, down below, several of Jet's lackies were setting up the red barrels full of blasting jelly at the base of the dam. Shit...

"Damnit... " No time to discuss things...

"Fuckit. Katara, get down there and stop them at any cost! Aang, warn the town, get those people out of there." I was about to go looking for the punk, when he dropped in on us...

"Looks like you three picked up on my plans..." Jet dropped down from the trees, staring us down.

"Rrgh... We do NOT have time for this! You two, get going! This asshat is mine!" I rushed the brat, blade in motion...

He hastily blocked, jumping back to avoid my follow-up strike. Aang had taken off on his glider, and Katara slid down the cliff, heading for the dam. Hopefully they'd make it in time...

...But I don't have room to think about that. Gotta keep things in perspective.

Focus...

Think of nothing, but how you swing your blade, and the enemy in front of you. Believe in nothing, but the steel in your hands, and the strength in your arms. Empty your heart of everything...

...But the will to **WIN**.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Jet considered himself a pretty fine swordsman, if nothing else. He had trained for countless months, working hard to perfect his method of fighting, using his weapons and his enviornment to his advantage. There were few he'd met that could match him, even including a couple of master swordsmen.

But this guy...

He was on a whole other level. He swung that massive blade as if it weighed nothing, with enough force behind each and every blow to send the scrawny teen reeling. At first, he seemed to be swinging it to and fro haphazardly, each one more wild than the last, as though he had no training whatsoever.

But as the fight went on... Jet noticed something. Red wasn't swinging wildly... No. He was precise, coming closer and closer to landing a fatal blow, never letting up, leaving Jet no option but to block and dodge as he retreated, unable to get away.

Then Jet tripped over a root, tumbling backwards, rolling on instinct.

That was when Jet realised... Red wasn't just a soldier; he was a true master swordsman. His style was reckless, and since he used such a massive weapon, it appeared as though he was just swinging it without a care... But on closer inspection... Every swing was coordinated, planned, and left no openings in his guard. Compared to the two self-proclaimed masters Jet had beaten senseless, this guy...

He was nothing like them. He was strong, he was fast, he was skilled... And he was _winning._ Worse, he had planned for Jet to trip over that tree root... He was actively forcing the teen into more and more difficult positions, forcing him to give up the high ground, keeping the sun at the former-soldier's back, in the freedom fighter's eyes. Jet saw no way out, as he felt his back connect with a tree, and one of his swords break in two, the other knocked from his grasp, and he realised...

This was it...

This was...

...The end...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Once I'd dealt with the punk, I ran to the edge of the cliff, giving a great leap, and slid downslope, making my way to the dam. Hopefully, Katara wouldn't need my help, but... Just in case.

I jumped, tucked and rolled at the bottom, springing to my feet at a mad dash, running my boots off in the direction of the dam. It was roughly two hundred yards, but I was moving fast.

I could see them...

Two figures on the ground, three standing. One of them was bending water, fighting the other two...

Katara. Alright. Time to end this farce.

Fifty feet...

Thirty...

Fifteen...

Three...!

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Katara had just barely gotten to the dam in time, soaking the red barrels with water to prevent them from being lit, but now had to fight several opponents with a limited supply of bending water... Not a favorable situation in any way. But after a tough skirmish, she'd taken down two of them, now trying to bide her time, and whittle down the other two.

...But she soon found, that was unnecessary.

"YO ASSHOLE!" A shout rang out...

And just as both teens turned, before they could react, Red ran headlong into them, arms outstretched, clotheslining both at once.

The moment they were on the ground, the man had slid to a stop, giving a sort of hop, spinning as he fell, landing a-

***Whum-THWACK!***

...Oooh... A nasty two-hit combo, an elbow drop and drop-kick, all in the same motion.

"GAAAH!"

Ouch... Judging from the scream,(And the sound of bone snapping) that had to hurt.

"...That sounded painful." Katara remarked, still breathing a little heavy. Bending was tiring, but she'd gotten more used to it lately.

"I'd hope so. Felt his ribs crack." Red replied, climbing to his feet, dusting himself off. "Okay... That's taken care of. Hold on... There are three more of 'em. Big guy with the log, bitch with knives, and-"

Red's eyes widened, and he spun, his sword out in a flash, arms blurring into motion...

*Whrr-TING!* Katara jumped, as she heard steel collide, and saw sparks fly...

An arrow! He'd deflected it on reflex, even...

She looked up, into the trees above them...

There! The silent boy with the bow, taking aim again.

Red was already moving, as he shouted, "Get to cover! I'll deal with him!"

She ran, trying to get as far out of the way as possible. Katara didn't want to get hit with one of those arrows, not after she'd seen what he could do.

Within moments, the tall man was up the riverbank, juking left and right, avoiding dozens of arrows that rained down from above, his sword a blur in the air around him...

Those arrows that he couldn't avoid, he cut down or deflected mid-flight. Whatever preconceptions she had about his skill level before, were now firmly reevaluated. If this guy's strength is anything to go by...

The Fire Nation's elite forces must be unstoppable. Not a good sign.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Aang returned to the dam with Sokka in tow, the village having been evacuated successfully. When they arrived, Red and Katara were rolling the last barrel of blasting jelly away from the dam. Once up close, we found them setting the last barrel upright, next to the others.

Red pried open one of them, reaching into his robe, retrieving a small cask. He dunked and filled it with jelly, sealing it back up before once again making it disappear into the folds of his robe. After that, he shooed Katara in our direction, following along just behind her. Strangely enough, in his hands, was a bow...

"Aang! Did you get the villagers out?" Katara asked, looking fraut with worry.

"Yeah, but it took some convincing. Are you two okay?" Aang responded, albeit less worried. The girl looked fine to him.

"We're fine. Back up, we gotta blow the rest of the stuff before the soldiers get to it." Red grunted, shooing us further from the gathered barrels.

After he decided we were a safe distance away,(Two hundred feet or so) He pulled an arrow from a quiver strapped to the back of his belt, one that had a cloth wrapped around the head.

Turning back towards the barrels and somehow lighting the arrow, he took aim...

"Guess we're going out with a bang."

_'...That sounded cheesy even to me...'_

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

_**If you can spot the Berserk shout-out, then you are a GOD among manga geeks.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**First Arc; Making Friends with a Legend**

**Who says merc life is easy?**

My standard form of writing applies.

" " - Spoken

' ' - Thought(Usually in _italics_)

( ) - Commentary. The perspective of a lowly mercenary. Quite funny, if you've got a very dry, morbid sense of humor.(PS; Contains 80% Sarcasm, and 20% MSG)

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

#3 One Hell of a Drop

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

We travelled for two days, before setting up camp at dusk... I was in the middle of trying to perform a miracle, while Sokka was pitching a tent. His sister was unexpectedly angry when she returned from fetching firewood. Not sure what she was getting pissy about, but I paid her no mind. Last I checked, the young Avatar was out and about gathering berries and other rabbit food for himself and the flying rat.

So, as I was saying... I was doing my damndest to perform a miracle, until-

"How's dinner looking?" Aang asked, just behind me. I was once again thankful that I'd gotten the fire started earlier... And damn, he moves quietly.

"Doing what I can. Should be ready to eat in another fifteen minutes." I was working with the cooked, dried and salted fish we'd made last night, chopping 'em up and mixing them in with some water, broth, dried dumplings, a little sauce and several spices to make stew. After that, I dipped into my emergency bread stash and ripped off a slab for each of us. It would make the meal that much more edible.

I could keep going on the food I had on my person for about another month... But when mixed in with the rest of them, plus their own supplies, that puts us down to another week and a half before we'll need to restock. Maybe two weeks, if we starve ourselves a little. After that...

We'll be stuck moving and fighting on empty stomaches. Not good. As I worked, I said, "Aang, we won't be able to keep going for much longer without resupplying sometime soon. I'd give us another week before things get sparse."

Aang frowned, looking thoughtful... "Yeah, we need to stop by the next town we fly over... Sokka, you have that map?"

We both looked over, where Sokka was picking up several small branches, before he brought them over. "Yeah, I've got it. One sec."

He dropped the twigs next to the campfire and started rummaging around in his bag.

Pulling out a map, he opened it, scanning over it for a few moments...

"The nearest town is here, a small port village right on the sea." Sokka pointed out the place, and we all agreed that's where we would restock our supplies.

"Hopefully they'll have something besides fish..." I drily commented, lookign forward to having some red meat for once... I'm really running low on jerky.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

After another restless night, we flew for another hour or so, before touchign down at Katara's request, to get a closer look at some gret, big-ass canyon.

...I really couldn't care less. Big hole in the ground, so what?

Anywho, soon after, some uppity punk ran headlong at us, dressed in fine clothing, out of breath. He was babbling somehting about him and his tribe being first for a canyon guide, or something or other.

...I wasn't paying much attention, truth be told.

A few minutes later, a tribe(Not his, he vehemently stated) showed up, wearing furs and crudely-stitched leather jherkins, lead by a bulky, older woman with a pair of buns on her head, wearing a raccoon-bear pelt around her shoulders. On her back was a large, cruved sword of some sort...

I noticed her, as she carried herself like a warrior, someone to be feared and respected. I made a mental note to be wary of any fights breaking out, as an older gentleman wearing the traditional clothes of an earthbender,(And a straw hat) showed up, calling himself the canyon guide.

Thus, sparking an arguement between the uppity punk, and the entire tribe of... Zhang, I think they were called. The well-dressed guy was of the Gan Jin, he said. Hm.

As they argued back and forth, suddenly, the other tribe showed up, all of them as well-dressed as the first guy, lead by an old man with a long, white beard. He carried himself like a swordsman... Nay, a master swordsman. He had a jian on his side... A very decorative one, but well-made, smelling of sharpening oil. Hm...

Within moments, both tribed began bickering back and forth, getting louder and louder, even involving the tour guide in the feud. Damnit.

I glanced at Aang...

"Well, we've really stepped in it, now, boss. Mind giving a little inspirational Avatar speech to shut 'em up?"

He nodded, going over and demonstating his airbending to get their attention, before shouting something about harsh words not solving problems, and that they could travel together for a single day and get it over with.

...Someway, somehow, the elderly and the ill wound up on Appa, to be flown across. Me? I didn't feel like dealing with feuding clans, as I'd wind up slaughtering both of 'em just to get some peace and quiet. So...

"I'll stick with appa and our gear, make sure nothing gets stolen and no Fire Nation troops are waiting on the other side."

...

Oh, the look on Sokka's face when I hopped up on the beast was just... _Priceless..._

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

While they walked across the canyon, I lounged with the elderly, and the ill, listening to old stories and coughing. We didn't arrive on the other side for a good two or three hours, give or take.

After touching down, I helped the passengers down, then set up camp, fed Appa,(Had to go scrounge around for an hour, looking for enough fruits and veggies) and wound up cooking for all of the twelve people who rode along.

Damnit.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Next day, sometime around noon or so, there was a ruckus and a commotion down below us in the canyon, lots of fighting or something.

I meandered over, looked down, and saw...

Bugs. BIG bugs. Attacking the entire group, and winning.

With a sigh, I drew my blade and jumped, letting myself fall a good fifty feet, before stabbing my sword into the face of the cliff, slowing my descent...

Once only thirty feet above the ground, I kicked off and hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop. On my feet, I observed the battlefield for a moment...

Canyon crawlers... At least three, four dozen of 'em. Viscious bastards, too. Well, better get started...

I made a mad dash for a group of unarmed tribesmen(Men and women, of both Gan Jin and Zhang) who were being chased by one of the buggers.

Forty feet...

Twenty... Fifteen...

Ten... Seven, five, ONE!

And I jumped, shifting my weight for a fancy flip,(I felt like showing off) and came down fast, driving my blade through the creature's head. Jumping off as it collapsed, I moved for the next one, reaching under the sleeve of my cloak...

There... The chain wrapped around my entire right arm, going from my wrist to around my chest and shoulder. I grabbed the last link in the chain, pulling it free and clipping it to the ring pommel of my sword. Ready.

I reared back, sliding to a stop, and slung it point-first at my target, letting my momentum go with the weapon, propelling it even faster.

Through the air it flew, chain trailing just behind, unravelling as fast as it could, before the edge connected with the monster bug's carapace, going right through its neck. The moment I felt the impact through the chain, I grasped it, pulling it taut, before yanking it straight back to me.

Pure practice and muscle memory is what let me catch my weapon by the hilt, pulling it back and resting it across my shoulder. Time to move onto the next one...

"***GROAAAARRRGH!***"  
...

I turned, instinct taking over as I swung the Dragonslayer by the chain, extending my reach to carve the legs right out from under the crawler that was just lunging for me. In that instant, I brought my weapon around and up, over, and finally straight down...

Clean through the bugger's head. Yanking it back again, I turned to the rest of the battlefield, having collected most of the excess chain in my off-hand, casually swinging the massive blade by the chain, my trademark smirk in place.

"Just call me Dale the exterminator... Let's rock."

Some eight minutes of squishing later, I heard Aang shout above the ruckus, telling everyone to do as he did. Hm?

Looking over, I saw him muzzle a crawler with a stuff sack, climbing atop it.

...

Okay... Well, points for having balls as big as your head, kid. Heh.

Well... While he and the others work on that, I guess I'll just keep the bulk of the bugs off of 'em while they focus on getting a free ride.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

When I noticed the group riding the crawlers up the wall, I figured it was about time for me to get out, too. Hokay... How to do this...

...

Welp, I got nothin'. Grapple-climb, then.

Seeing a few dozen buggers closing in from all sides, I made a mad dash for the canyon wall, and gave as great a leap as I could... Then threw my sword into the wall before pulling myself to it, a good seventy feet above the floor.

...Then I began climbing the remaining fifty feet. Damnit.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Aang hopped off the giant bug as the others got to the top, and slung the bag of food as hard as he could into the canyon, watching as the insects ran down after it. Smiling, he gave himself a mental pat on the back for coming up with such an ingenius plan on such short notice.

Once he saw all the killer bugs were gone, he turned and started off, humming to himself before he noticed the two tribes were still bickering, getting ready to start fighting again. Before he could say anything, he heard something behind him...

Turning, he saw Red climbing out of the canyon, sheathing his sword and dusting himself off, before pulling up the sleeve of his robe and wrapping a thick chain around his arm. Aang then saw that it was connected to his sword... Huh.

He walked over, looked between the two bickering tribes, then looked at Aang and sardonically asked, "Should I just go and kill 'em all, get it over with?"

Suppressing a chuckle at the comical look on his face,(Kinda reminded him of Sokka, for some reason) "Nah, I got this."

Aang then went and lied his tail off, somehow convincing both tribes to get over their differences and become one.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

...

After both tribes walked off, leaving the four of us with Appa, I turned to Aang and said, "You, young Avatar, are devious."

Aang simply smiled. "I try."

"Wait, what do you mean? He just got both tribes to settle their differences without fighting, how is that devious?" Katara asked, puzzled.

After a moment, a look of dawning realisation came over Sokka's features. "You didn't..."

Aang grinned even wider. "I did."

Katara looked between the three of us, starting to get irritated. "...What? What did he do?"

I chuckled, and let her in on the joke. "He lied. He just convinced two tribes with a century-old conflict that they were both wrong, with a child's tale. And I'm guessing he just came up with it on a lark. Clever little bugger..."

She blinked, deadpanning, "That is so wrong..."

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

The next day,(After ANOTHER restless night of unsettling dreams...) we woke up and got ready, while I had to listen to all three of them complaining about wierd dreams. Huh.

Once up and about, we were on Appa and flying to that port town Sokka had pointed out the other day. Wasn't too bad a trip; the sky was clear, and we didn't run into any Fire Nation patrols. Easy day.

Touching down in the water and setting up in the port, we filed off the giant fluffy monster and stretched our legs, then began the shopping. And the haggling... Always with the haggling...

I went around to the various local shops looking and following my nose, trying to find the best dried meat for the lowest price.

Fish, no. Got MORE than enough of that for awhile, and we can always get some from any decently sized water source.

After searching, I found a rinkidink little family-owned shop that sold all kinds of general goods. Including dried meat, which I dipped into my meager funds to buy plenty of.

Not like I have a lotta money, but it's enough to get by on my own, so long as I pick up a few jobs and skip the occasional meal... Or three.

Suppressing a dejected sigh of unemployment, I made my way back to the others, just in time to see-

Aang flying off on his own with tears in his eyes, Katara yelling at an old fisherman, and Sokka on a boat, looking confused.

...?

Jogging to catch up with the pissed-off waterbender, I called, "Oy, Katara! What's going on?"

She didn't even look back, just ran down the dock and jumped on Appa, shouting "Yip-yip!"

The giant beast kicked out of the water, rising into the air, sending a small wave onto the pier, nearly soaking me.(I conveniently stepped out of the way. Already had my bath for the day, thank you)

...?

I shook my head, trying to make sense of whatever the hell just happened.

"What the fuck..."

Sokka looked up and shrugged, loading some cargo onto a small fishing boat. "I have no idea."

...

"Well, that makes two of us... Guess I'll go see if I can't scrounge up a bit of money." He tossed me a thumbs-up, and replied,

"Gotcha'. I'm off to help this guy," He then hooked a thumb at the old fisherman, who was now on the boat and fiddling around with something. "With his fishing. We'll probably be back in a few hours. Keep an eye out for my sister and Aang, wouldja?"

I nodded, and started back into town, looking for a job for the day.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Found a lovely young woman who wanted some wood split, after doing a little searching.

Heheh.

Hm. Half a cord of wood, dried and cut, just needs to be split into pieces. Okay, easy enough. The woman,(Katsuya, a beautiful specimin, with dark hair and light skin without a single blemish, not to mention a dynamite figure) set up a chair outside, kicking back to watch me work.(Not that I blame her)

I set the first piece upon the stump she had set back just for this task, cracked my neck, and drew my blade...(She did have an axe, but it was conveniently broken. No wonder she was willing to pay me a few coins to split wood)

Breathe in, breathe out...

One swing, and the log was now in two pieces, three feet away on either side of the stump. Set 'em back up, turned, and split once more, to have four pieces.

Good to go.

Toss 'em in a pile, then set up two logs, one on top of the next.

Swing and split, line 'em back up, and split again.

Now three logs...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

That didn't take long, now did it?(Convenient)

Heheh. Got the logs split and stacked, before the lovely woman invited me inside and out of the rain...(It had started up about an hour ago, so I'd busted my hump to get it all cut and out of the rain)

Inside, she handed me my payment, which I pocketed, when she offered to shelter me for the night in her home, and asked me to remove my soaked clothes...

...With this sultry little smile, too... Heheheheh, al-right!

I was undoing the buckle of my bauldric, setting it aside... She undid the clasp of her robe, slowly, seductively sliding it off her shoulders...

When suddenly, I heard "RED! Hey, Red! We're leaving, come on!"

. . . . .

Jashin DAMNIT!

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

_**If you can spot the King of the Hill shout-out, then woohoo for you. It's pretty damn obvious. There's also a stealthy Naruto refrence in here somewhere...**_

_**Say, was this chapter boring? 'Cuz I felt like it was... More like a summary of the one episode, then a half-assed tale of the next. Eh.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**First Arc; Making Friends with a Legend**

**Who says merc life is easy?**

My standard form of writing applies.

" " - Spoken

' ' - Thought(Usually in _italics)_

( ) - Commentary. The perspective of a lowly mercenary. Quite funny, if you've got a very dry, morbid sense of humor.(PS; Contains 80% Sarcasm, and 20% MSG)

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

#4 Old friends...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Appa touched down in an old ruin, as everyone filed off and began setting up camp. Aang noted that Red was still fairly annoyed, having hardly said a word, other than muttering obscenities and sighing dejectedly every now and again.

Sokka had given him several sympathetic looks, while Katara just paid him no mind. Aang would've been worried that he was angry, but he had already said he was annoyed by something else, and the boy wasn't apart of it in any way. Well, there's that, at least. Still...

He seemed to be looking forward to the next time the Fire Nation caught up with us, if only for a chance to vent his frustration.

"Ah...Ahh...AH-CHOO!" Katara sneezed again, rubbing her nose, just before Sokka broke out into another coughing fit.

It has been three days since the storm, and we've been travelling a good ways, but Sokka has been sick, and Katara seemed to be catching it. Aang just hoped that he and Red wouldn't wind up as bad off as those two, in case they did run into a Fire Nation ambush.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

As Aang flew off in search of medicine for Sokka and, presumably, Katara, I remained with those two, in case our camp was found by someone.

...I discreetly kept my distance from those two, and pulled up my facemask. I did NOT want to get whatever they'd gotten... Hate, hate, haaate being sick...

So, I sat upon a fallen stone, and set in to wait for the boy to return...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Some six hours passed, before Aang stomped inside, looking decidedly rough.

"Hm? Aang, are you alright?" I stood, dusting myself off as I approached.

He didn't even break stride as he tiredly marched over to the Water Tribe duo, who were both sick as ferret-dogs and shivering in their bedrolls, muttering strange things to their hallucinations.

Aang reached into his shirt, and pulled out...

...Frozen frogs?

"Suck on there, they'll make you feel better." He stuck one in each of their mouths, then plopped down on Appa's tail.

"Sho, make any new friendsh, Aang?"

The boy rolled over, muttering, "No... I don't think I did..."

...

"UWAGH!"

"Uhl- UWEH!"

Both siblings spit out their frogs, which had thawed and defrosted in their mouths.(They'd been frozen before... Huh)

I chuckled to myself, watching as they both coughed and sputtered, washing their mouths out from their canteens. Then I looked to the young Avatar...

"You alright, Aang?" I asked, concerned. Hope he doesn't get sick... Airbender sneezes are viscious. Almost as deadly as a firebender's, even.(Big reason I really didn't want to get sick)

"I'm just... Tired."

Aren't we all, boy...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

The next day, after spending a bit of time flying, we dropped to the ground, and set up camp.(Not my idea; I was in favor of getting our asses in gear and up to the North Pole by now)

I yawned, idly sharpening my sword while Sokka floundered about with a harpoon, spouting something about a fish mocking him. He wasn't using his fishing rod, since Aang had woven the fishing line into a necklace for the resident waterbender.

...Then he ogled the crap out of her when she asked how she looked. Poor, horny Avatar.

"Ooh, someone's in looove... Smoochie-smoochie, heheh."

*WHAP!* The fish Sokka had caught flipped itself and smacked him in the face. Heheh, idiot.

"Ow!" He shouted, falling back into the water.

Rolling my eyes, my arm snapped out, hurling a knife, sending it flying through the air and skewering the fish, staking it to the boulder that was sitting in the creek.

"Nice throw. And stop teasing him, Sokka. Aang's just a good friend, a sweet little guy. Just like Momo..."

Aang's expression glomped. "Thanks..." He muttered, sounding dejected and irritated.

Sokka pulled himself out of the water, grumbling, before trying to dislodge my knife from the rock.

...Without success. The other two giggled as they watched him try and try, before he just yanked our next meal off and drudged it over onto shore, scowling.

Whoops. Think I threw that a little too hard, eheheh.

"GRRRAAAAAARRRGH!" A roar echoed through the air, and I was instantly on my feet, the four of us moving in the direction the sound originated from.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"Someone's being attacked by a platypus-bear!"

...That's when we came across some dumb schmuck who was tangling with a platypus-bear. Huh. Kinda obvious, that.

He was ducking, dodging and side-stepping its claws, seemingly unconcerned, smiling all the while. Then he looked up to where we were, still smiling.

"Well, hello, there. Nice day, isn't it?"

...The hell?

"Make noise, he'll run off!" Aang shouted, alarmed.

Sokka shouted, "No, play dead! He'll lose interest!"

The man ducked another swing, his hat slipping off and falling back into place, saying, "Ha ha, close one! Ha ha ha ha ha..." ...Man, this bosh'tet is crazier than I am!

"No, run downhill and climb a tree!" Katara interjected, before Sokka shouted again "No, punch him in the bill!"

"And then run in zig-zags!" Aang's suggestion kinda... Yeah. Not exactly useful against something faster than a human when running away.

"No need," The idiot calmly replied, dropping to the ground as he narrowly avoided another swing that clipped a tree. Sighing, the four of us moved to intercept, Aang and myself getting between the bear and the jackass first.

Aang stared down the beast for several seconds, as Appa creeped up behind it far more quietly than such a giant fluffy monster should.

"**GRRRROOOOAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!**"

The platypus-bear's fur stood on end, head to tail, as it froze for a moment, shitting an egg. Then turning and scampering away, diving into the stream and swimming away.

Sokka immediately pounced on the giant egg. "Mmm! Lunch!" Holding it close to himself, he addressed the dumbass.(The other one, not himself) "Lucky for you we came along."

"Thanks, but everything was already under control." He swished to his feet,(Litterally, swished) smiling pleasantly. Moving towards us, he then said, "Not to worry. Aunt Wuu predicted I would have a safe journey."

"Aunt who?" Aang parroted, puzzled.

"No, Aunt Wuu. Awful nice, knowing your future," He corrected.

...Moron.

"Yeah, must be... That explains why you were so calm." Aha, so Katara possesses basic reasoning skills! Impressive.

...Yet another moron. Lovely.

Sokka blinked, then accused, "But the fortuneteller was WRONG. You didn't have a safe journey, you were almost killed!"

"Ah, but I wasn't. Alright, have a good one." He began walking past us, humming to himself, before stopping again.

"Oh, and Aunt Wuu said if I met any travellers, to give them this." He plucked a parcel from his back, and handed it to Aang, then resumed his travelling.

...

Aang unwrapped it, while Katara suggested, "Maybe we should go see Aunt Wuu and learn our fortunes. It could be fun!"

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, fortunetelling is nonsense!"

I nodded. "Gotta agree with Sokka on that. Anyone who says that destiny is predetermined is either an idiot, a tyrant, a fanatic, or they're selling something."

"Huh?" Aang held a cylicdrical object, which- *Fwuh!* ...Opened into an umbrella. "An umbrella?"

. . .

***Tha-BOOMSHKA!*** Above us, lightning cracked the sky, and it suddenly started pouring down rain.

With a sigh, I flicked my hood up, as Katara huddled under the umbrella with Aang, and Sokka adopted a sardonic expression.

"Pure coincidence. It's been cloudy all day."

...Both benders rolled their eyes at him.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

After packing up camp but-quick and setting out for the village of the fortuneteller,(Against my better judgement) we slogged along the path the crazy bastard from earlier had followed. We kept on marching through the muddy dirt path, the two benders getting cozy under the umbrella while Sokka and I made due with our individual head-coverings.

My hood, and his platypus-bear egg, in case you're wondering. Anyway, as we walked, Katara remarked, "Look, admit you guys might be wrong, and you can squeeze under the umbrella."

...I don't think I could even fit under that thing by myself.

Both sarcasm-guy and myself rolled our eyes. "C'mon, of course she predicted it was going to rain! Now I'm going to predict the future; it's going to keep driiiizzling..." Sokka snarked, making comedic hand gestures.(I took the egg and stashed it, after he nearly dropped the damned thing)

. . .

Within seconds, the water stopped falling, the clouds parted, and the sun smiled upon us.

"COINCIDENCE!"

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Another hour and a half was spent walking until we arrived at the village in question. We were still somewhat damp, to give you a sense of perspective. Moving through the village, we were directed by a few villagers to the building of the fortuneteller, and right outside the doors, a white-haired man wearing rather expensive-looking clothes bowed, opening the doors.

"Aunt Wuu is expecting you..."

As we filed inside, I nudged Sokka. "Betcha he says that to everyone."

The boy snorted. "Probably."

Anyway, once inside, we were greeted by a young girl with MASSIVE pigtails in her hair. I mean huge, bigger than her own head. As she introduced herself as Aunt Wuu's assistant, I noticed her making googly-eyes at Aang, eyeing him up like a slab of fresh meat.

Hm. Methinks the little airhead is going to be a real heartbreaker one day.

Heheh, sooner than he thinks, too... After ordering us to take a seat and get comfortable, the 'assistant' left the room to check on something and fetch refreshments, returning some minute later with a tray laden with a bowl of something cheesey, puffs of some kind, as well as a pot of tea and several cups.

I ignored the food and poured myself some tea, finding it to be jasmine, oddly enough. After a few more moments, an exhuberant woman grinning and squealing practically ran outside, looking like she'd just won a massive pile of gold. I take it the fortuneteller gave her a line of bullshit about true love or something.

Anyway.

The first one who went for their scam- erm, augury, was Katara. Aang conveniently got up and said he was going to the bathroom less than two minutes later... Huh.

So I sat there with Sokka, sipping tea while he munched on snacky-stuff. Several minutes passed, when Aang walked back into the room wearing a big, dumb, lovesick, shit-eating grin.

. . .

Huh. Well, either he just took an awesome dump, or he eavesdropped on Katara's fortune and liked what he heard.

...And I'm guessing it was the latter. He sat down and stared off into space, looking like any other lovesick idiot who's just met his crush.

I paid neither him nor Sokka any mind when Katara returned, lead by an older woman wearing rather regal clothing... Along with some intricate jewelry. I assumed she was Aunt Wuu.

"Who's next?"

Sokka sighed, getting to his feet. "Well, let's just get this over with..."

The fortuneteller adopted a sardonic expression. "Your future is full of struggle and anguish... Most of it self-inflicted."

Sokka blinked. "But- You didn't even read my palms or anything!"

"I don't need to. It's written all over your face."

The boy's expression glomped, and I chuckled quietly. The old woman turned her gaze upon me.

"You there, come."

Uh-huh.

"I'll pass," I responded, waving her towards Aang.

Aunt Wuu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? A skeptic, are we?"

"Aye... There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. When we rely on superstition to guide our actions, we don't look closely enough at our choices... Nor our own decisions." She nodded sagely, moving closer to me.

"Ah. You speak from past experience." Her hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with far more strength than a woman her age should possess. She stared hard at the lines that creased my calloused hand, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"You are a struggler... One who has endured much pain, but became far stronger for it. When you found that those you fought so hard to protect cared nothing for you, and then killed someone innocent, someone you held dear... You renounced your beliefs and loyalties with the words _there is no god._"

Eyes narrowed and teeth bared, I growled, "...I suggest you release me, before you lose that hand."

She did, indeed release me, but adopted a knowing smile. "To a blade... Or a flame?"

In that instant, I had a hand on the hilt of my sword, eyes mere slits, glowering.

"Ha ha ha... I thought as much. You should lighten up, boy; you could learn a thing or two from the young Avatar."

...The other three in the room apparently didn't understand the conversation, nor why I stalked outside, killing intent rolling off of me in waves.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

It wasn't until hours later that I was pestered again, while I was in the middle of practicing my swordwork.

"Urah!" Damn, I'm still off by just a fraction... Not good enough.

"Red!" A voice broke my concentration and I turned, taking in the Avatar's panicked appearance.

"Aang? What is it?"

"The volcano's going to erupt! Aunt Wuu's prediction was wrong!" ...The hell?

Great. This just got a lot mroe complicated.

"...And I supose you want me to help you help these ignorant fools?... Very well. I'll go and see if I can't jury-rig a way for the lava to flow away from the village." Sheathing my weapon, I started for the volcano in question, thoroughly irritated.

"...Jury-rig?" I heard him parrot, probably looking very perplexed.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Some twenty minutes of hiking later, and I saw what got those two so worked up. The molten rock was, indeed, going to overflow, very soon. Ah... What to do about it.

I don't have the sheer power to force the pressure back down, not on my own. And I don't have enough blasting jelly to blow a flowgate in the other side of the rock to allow the stuff to flow away from the village, either.

Damnit.

Hokay... C'mon, Red, you've figured harder things out. Think... Think...

THINK!

. . .

Yeah, I got nothing.

Maybe I can slow down the flow when it does erupt? Or divert some of it in a different direction... C'mon, what would the General do...?

...

Pick up sticks, get those people the hell out. Then blade flowgates in the mountainside before forcing the volcano to erupt early, thus lessening the pressure behind it.

Now, if only I had a squad of firebenders to pick up the slack. Tch, yeah, right. And Aang can't properly bend fire yet, so no matter how powerful a bender he is, he just isn't capable. Plus I don't need them knowing that I'm a firebender... I get enough hatred just for being a former soldier.

So. Here I am, back to square one. Hoookay, guess I'll take a little off the top. Or as much as I can get away with, anyway.

Breathe in, breathe out...

Focus the mind... Draw power from that inner strength, and channel it. Let your will guide the flame, not control it. That is the key to bending fire. To guide its path, not strangle it into submission.

Extending that inner power outward, I grasped the heat of the lava, tugging it upward, coaxing it into motion. After getting the momentum behind it, I simply pulled with all my might, using my body to better control the flow of my chi.

A tidal wave of the glowing, red-hot goop shot out of the volcano, flowing down the mountainside, in the opposite direction of the village. Alright... Now all I have to do is keep it moving.

C'mon, baby, keep it rolling. Up, over, down. Up, over, down. Get it up and over, then let gravity do the rest with an occasional shove, to keep it from cooling off too fast.

Outta bring that waterbender up here... Molten rock IS a liquid, right?

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Some hours had passed, since Aang last saw Red, but the volcano has been throwing up smoke and spitting out rocks four ages. THAT got the villagers' attention! Now they were helping us to prepare for the inevitable eruption, digging channels for the lava and doing various other thigns to get ready.

"Aang!" He heard Katara call, and turned to find her rushing up to him.

"What is it?" The young Avatar replied, calmed by the relieved expression on her feace. It wasn't bad news, at least.

She was slightly out of breath, not used to running distances. "The rest of the village has evacuated, the only ones left are those helping up here. We've done all we can, Aang; the rest is up to fate."

Fate... What was it, Red had said?

Aang smiled. "No, Katara; the rest is up to us. Fate can only affect those who refuse to do things themselves. Now c'mon, help me with this last-"

***Ba-DOOOOMSHCK!*** An earth-rattling explosion shook the young benders, as they turned to see a massive explosion rising from the mountain, lava spewing down its side...

He looked to Katara. "Like red said. There is no fate but what we make. Now let's get these people out!"

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"Whoa..." Whoa, indeed. The young waterbender watched on in amazement, seeing Aang put on a show of airbending like nothing she'd ever imagined...

The scale was just- Well, he was definately the Avatar, alright.

"Sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is..." Sokka muttered, and Katara blinked, giving her brother a double-take.

"Wait, what?" She asked. She couldn't have possibly heard him right...

"Huh?" He gave her a blank stare. "I just said that kid's an awesome bender. You tend to forget how strong he is, since he looks to innocent." Huh...

Katara wondered... Could that fortune-teller have meant Aang?

Hmm.

Just as Aang finished, and looked up at his handiwork, the dried lava which looked like massive dragons' teeth forming a half-dome around the back of the village, Red appeared, covered in soot, carefully stepping around the hot stone as he whistled.

"Fine work, Aang. Very fine work, indeed." Aang turned to look at the big man, and grinned.

"Thanks. That was your doing, making the volcano spit out a ton of smoke, wasn't it?"

Red gave a cryptic smile. "Maybe... It just might be, heheh. They say fate works in mysterious ways, after all..."

...Really? Putz.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

**Later that week...**

"You see, Prince Zuko? A moment of quiet peace is good for your mental well-being."

The fiery prince nodded. "Perhaps... But I'd rather spend my time more productively." He went to take a sip, reluctantly admitting to himself that his uncle's tea was world-class, when-

***WHUMPK!***

An impact ran through the entire ship, knocking Zuko's drink upon his head. It quickly began evaporating, as the firebender's temper quickly began raising his body temperature.

Standing, he wiped the hair out of his face, turned and stomped out. Iroh respectfully waited until the Prince was out of earshot before he began snickering.

"Heheheh, and they say karma doesn't exist..." Standing, he quickly followed after his wayward nephew, schooling his amused features back to passive neutrality.

This would be interesting at least.

**Some six minutes later...**

"I'm impressed... Verrrry impressed," My uncle murmurred, stroking his beard as he stared after that woman riding away on that beast.

'_By her ass,_' I mentally finished, sighing at Uncle's lecherous expression. I might have difficulty with my temper, but at least I'm not lusting after women less than half my age. Honestly, he's been married, had a child,(Who, unfortunately, died years ago. Rest in piece, Lu Ten) and effectively retired from the military, becoming my 'advisor' when I was exiled.

Tch, he just followed along to get out of the palace, if you ask me. But I should be thankful for him, I guess, he's always been there for me. Keeps me from doing anything too stupid, anyway. Heh, looking back, he's been more of a father to me than my own dad...

But I was brought back from my musings by Uncle's voice.

"She was quite something, wasn't she?"

Uh-huh... Something pretty to stare at, by your standards. Wonder what her name is... "Yes, 'something' is right." As I turned back, I saw something else that irritated me today.

I drily added, "And that _something_ owes me the cost of repairing my ship..."

*Sigh* This is going to be a long day, isn't it?

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"Hah! Huh, ha- RAH!" I was practicing with my broadswords, swinging left, right and over, trying my best to recall the lessons my sensei drilled into my head years ago.

"_Remember- the sword is not a weapon. It is an extension of yourself, apart of you. It can be sacrificed for survival if necessary; it isn't attatched to you. Remember that, as well. Oh, and, uh... Don't ever scratch yous balls with it, just to clarify. No, I don't think you're THAT stupid, but I've had a dumbass student lose one to that mistake. Ahem. Now, remember this mantra; you do not fight. You survive. That is your number one goal. Win if possible, but survival takes priority._" ...Yeah, he was an oddball, but he was also the best instructor I had, including several high-end firebending masters.

And I had a LOT of them. Perks of being a Prince, I guess. Hmph... Not that it helped, seeing as Azula was always much more talented than me... Bitch.

I shook my head, trying not to bring up memories of my ice queen sister. How she could've been born from Mother, I'll never know. Starting to think that we were only half-siblings, seeing as she and I are nothing alike, aside from appearances.

I have ALWAYS had to work for everything I have,(Possessions not included) while she manages to glide by on natural talent. Firebending, academics, fighting, physical fitness, everything came naturally to her. But I had to struggle and strive just to get by, damnit!

"URAH!" Fueled by aggravation, flames flew from the tips of each sword, fireblasts flying a good thirty feet away from me. Good thing I decided to pactice outside.

And she was always in control of her emotions... I have trouble just containing my anger, let alone holding it in when provoked. Damnit, this isn't fair... I have to do everything the hard way, while she gets to skate by on good genes. Fuck, I try to do the right thing, and Father exiles me for it!

"DAMNIT!" ***FWOOSH!*** Blazing flames flew out in either direction, following the point of each blade forty feet out. Hmph. Azula may have luck, she may have talent, but I'm the one with drive and ambition... I _WILL_ have my throne, no matter what.

Fuck it... Come on, calm down. Remember what Sensei taught you.

"_In battle, follow your instincts, but USE your HEAD for something besides a hatrack! If all you do is charge forward and blindly attack, you WILL wind up dead! Probably in a gutter somewhere, when you foolishly attack someone who pisses you off. Now remember; your enviornment is your FRIEND. Use it to your advantage; take the high ground, let your surroundings fight for you. And remember; always assume that your opponent is faster, stronger, smarter, and more motivated than you are. Never underestimate them, or you will die. Period, end of report. Don't strike your enemy if you can avoid it, but never hit softly, either. Hit hard, hit once, and win ten times over._"

MAN, he talked a lot. Kept it simple, explained things in easy-to-understand terms, but damn, he spit out a lot of information at once. At least he was entertaining, heheh.

I smiled fondly, remembering the way he and Uncle got along... Heh, they were best friends, even when Sensei was technically Uncle Iroh's subordinate. Hm. He also got on well with Mother...

Looking back, I now know that they were actually flirting, and now some of those flattering comments seem... A little less than innocent. Damnit, no wonder mom was always blushing around him. That bastard flirted with my Mother, a married woman! The Firelord's wife, no less! That womanising son of a bitch.(And seeing their reactions, a very skilled/lucky one, at that) I guess audacious would be the one word I'd use to describe him.

...Although, I remember the few times when Mei's mother was around, she, too, turned as crimson as her robes in his presence. Not to mention, she stared after him when she thought no one was looking. Hm.

I wonder, was it him that those two talked about, when they went off on their own and left us children to play? Huh.

Y'know, there are times when I wish I hadn't grown up, 'cuz there are things that I don't need to know, and don't want to know.

"Prince Zuko!" Hm?

I turned, and found one of my crew jogging across the deck to me.

"What is it?" I speak bluntly. It may be rude, but at least I get my point across quickly, and I don't chew the scenery. Hey, I'm a Prince, I'm allowed to be impatient.

"We've found the name of that woman. She's a bounty hunter, who goes by the name June." Obviously a bounty hunter, seeing as she was apprehending a fugitive. But June? That's an odd name.

I nodded, brusquely replying, "And? Where can I find her?"

"She can be frequently found in a tavern not far from here, a little dive frequented by mercenaries, pirates, and thugs." Great...

Well, at least I have a name, and a new lead on the Avatar...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

**A day later...**

**Back to Red's point of view**

*Click*

Much better. The last couple of days have been one hell of a trip... Aang, Katara and the dork nearly get themselves killed on some kinda rite of passage for Water Tribe men with that Batou character, while I calmly watched from the shore.

...Yeah, I've been tossed overboard once already, and once was enough, thanks.

I was on Appa's saddle, double-checking the ties that kept our bedrolls in place while Aang climbed atop his partner's head, taking the reins in hand. He was still looking miserable as hell, but before we took off, there was a shout.

"Hm?" We both turned to look, and saw one of the sisters(From that perfume-making convent) running flat out, hitching up her skirt as she ran, headlong towards us. Wonder what's gotten into her...

Aang and I shared a glance, before we both hopped off the fuzzy monster and jogged to meet up with the freaked out woman.

"A-ah-Avatar Aang!" She was out of breath and red in the face, panting as she sputtered something incoherent...

But Aang got it right away, as his eyes widened. "Zuko... Come on! We need to get back to the monastery!" He hopped back onto Appa, and I sighed, doing the same. Great...

Zuko, huh... Guess I get to meet the prince once more. Wonder if he's bothered to practice his bending in the past four years...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Some four minutes later, and Aang hopped off of Appa with his glider in hand, shouting, "I'm going ahead!"

...Great.

Yet another tense forty seconds before Appa was dive-bombing towards the monastery, and I jumped off, falling twenty feet before rolling to a stop, sword drawn.

First target...

Some kind of massive furry beast,(Other than Appa, who had just crashed into said beast) and- Aha! There he was...

Hm. Zuko's gotten taller, and he wears the traditional armor well. Still butt-ugly, but that's not his fault. Heheh.

Smirking, I got to my feet, slowly approaching as I called, "Oy, Zuko! Been a long time, hasn't it?"

He turned his glare onto me, before his jaw dropped. "S-sensei?! You- You're travelling with the Avatar?!"

I couldn't help the grin that crossed my face. Heheh, he's still as easily shocked as ever. Oblivious little brat. "Oh! So you do remember me! I suppose you're here to capture the Avatar, aren't you? Ha ha ha, you haven't changed a bit, boy."

He edged a few feet back, a wary look on his face. The closer I got, the less he was focused on Aang. I guess he remembers our little 'duels' rather vividly. Hm? He has an old burn scar on his left eye, now... Suppose that's the mark he got from losing to his father.

When he edged even further back, I taunted, "What's wrong, boy? You don't look so sure of yourself now, seeing me with the Avatar. I suppose that's to be expected, as you've seen firsthand the consequences of duelling a master."

"No, I just remember you like fighting up close." He shot back, keeping his eyes trained on mine. Good retort, that. Ah, me... Well, he's remembered some of his training, at least.

"Well, at least you remember that lesson. I'll only warn you once, boy; if you do not retreat and cease this foolishness, I will show you no mercy." I levelled the tip of my sword right at his heart, and he swallowed...

Just before an all-too familiar voice sounded just behind me. "Well, isn't this a surprise! It's been a long time, Lieutenant."

My eyes snapped open, and I spun around, shifting into a defensive stance.

Standing there, jolly as ever... Was my former commanding officer, the Dragon of the West; General Iroh.

"General... So it seems you've become the brat's babysitter, eh?" As usual, he did not look angry, nor even remotely displeased at today's events.

"Mm... It seems I have, though he's become a fine young man these days. It's been four years, hasn't it?" I have to keep my eyes on him... Zuko is probably still an amateur, but General Iroh...

No. He is a force to be reckoned with. If he is also set on capturing Aang, then we're in deep shit... But I doubt such is the case. No... The General is far too honourable for this. He is only going with Zuko for personal reasons... Strange.

"Aye, four years since my execution... I still owe you for that distraction, General, but I can't allow you or anyone else to harm Aang. This war has gone on long enough." Watch his eyes; those'll be the first to change if he intends to fight.

"That it has..." He smiled, shifting into a combat stance. Damnit. "Say, it has been awhile since I last got to stretch my muscles... Let's have a duel, for old times' sake. Show me how strong you've gotten, Lee."

*Sigh*

Guess there's no helping it. I noticed Aang and Zuko duking it out from the corner of my eye, and I sheathed my blade, going into the very same stance Iroh took. "Very well, General... Prepare yourself."

And as I felt the waves of burning, searing anger wash over me, flames danced across my fingertips...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"RAH!" Aang ducked another wild fireblast, before popping back up and blowing a raspberry.

"Thbbbbbpppptt! You missed!" After what Red had said, Aang figured that exploiting the hotheaded Zuko's emotions would be a good strategy. Turns out, it was.

"ARRRGH!" *Fwoosh!* He fired again, not even coming close to hitting him. Heheh, this is kinda fun! Well, it would be, if not for the considerable chances of me getting my butt burned.

Still side-stepping around him, twirling Katara's necklace around his fingers, the Avatar was easily avoiding each and every blow the prince tried to land, mocking him the entire time.

"Are you done warming up yet?"

"OOOH! OWCH!... Not."

"Are you even TRYING?"

"You call that firebending?"

"For a firebender, you're not very bright."

"Hey Zuko, how many firebenders does it take to light a torch? You sure can't!"

"Look, a leprechaun!" Aang pointed, and Zuko blinked, turning his head.

"What?" And then Aang delivered what Red called the one-hit wonder. An almighty air-assisted kick to the groin from behind.

*Scrunch!*

The firebender gave a yelp, pitching face-forward to the ground, groaning.

"Heheh, I feel bad for your teacher, 'cuz that was embarassing."

Out of nowhere...

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" Aang heard Red suddenly bust out laughing, and he turned, looking to see-

***FWOOSH!*** A MASSIVE ball of flame, which was split by the old man that Zuko was frequently with.

"Ha ha! That's a good one, young Avatar." Iroh remarked, chuckling. "Are you embarassed, having seen how he fights now?"

Then the old man sent three huge fireblasts at Red in quick succession, who easily knocked each aside, before-

WHOA! Before he sent three of his own, each matching the old man's in size!

_'Red is- He's a firebender?!'_

"Hah! Damn right I'm embarassed, I feel as red as my cloak! You need to drill the basics back into his stubborn ass!"

Zuko's uncle evaded all three, laughing all the while. "I tried! But you know him, always impatient, demanding that I teach him the next, more advanced set. I told him as I told you; power in firebending come from the BREATH!" ...Before exhaling a wave of flame.

Whoa...

Red dodged to the side, replying, "Dragon of the West... A fitting title, General. I've enjoyed seeing you again, but we'll need to cut this reunion short." Huh. He breathes fire? So that's why he's called the Dragon of the West.

The old man, Iroh, I think his name was, nodded, taking on a serious expression. "Unfortunately... It's a shame we're on opposing sides, Lee. I could really use your assistance during these dark days; your loyalty was always second to none, succeeded only by your skill as a warrior. Salamander, Red Death of the Fire Nation, will you rejoin me? Your presence would greatly aid in prince Zuko's quest, and I'm sure the Firelord would pardon the charges against you, if you were to help us capture the Avatar."

Red was quiet for several moments... It was really uncomfortable.

"...Aye, General, it would be an honor, no, a privilege to serve with you again. I want to go with you, Kami knows I do..." He looked back up to his General's eyes, steel in his voice. "But... No. I promised I would protect that kid, and I swore over Elena's grave that I would bring the entire Fire Nation down around that _bastard's _ears."

Iroh's eyes widened, before he began to speak, echoing Red's next words...

"_For the sins of the Father, on the blood of the Son, for the blood on my hands... With clear eyes and full hearts, we will do that which is just, and move forever onward, to tomorrow._"

When they finished, Iroh nodded sagely. "So you haven't forgotten... Very well. I trust you to follow your heart, and your judgement, wherever they may take you. May your journey bring you home to warm sands, Lieutenant. Good luck and godspeed." He bowed, and Lee returned the gesture.

"Thank you, General."

In that instant...

"**GrrOAAAGGGHHH!**"

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Red turned, eyes wide, as the huge furry monster lashed out at him with its tongue...

He just barely evaded, knocking the appendage away with his armored gauntlet, flames scorching the tentacle-like thing.

The beast screeched, retracting its tongue and bucking, throwing its rider clean off. Aang was stunned, seeing the firebender deal with that thing so easily, when it was giving the others so much trouble.

But just then... Red was prepared to fight that woman, when he stopped dead in his tracks, giving a start.

"Wha-?! June...?"

The woman, who had gotten up with a snarl, whip cracking, also stopped, looking stunned. "What the- Lee?"

They both stared at each other for what seemed like ages, the old man looking between them with an odd look in his aged features. "Well, now... Yet another surprise. You two know each other?"

Suddenly, the woman's beautiful face contorted into a visage of pure rage. "You bastard!" Rushing straight forward, she moved as quick as Red, swinging that whip faster than the eye could follow.

But the big guy didn't even raise his weapon... No, he just stood there. Time seemed to slow down as she swung, the coiled leather lashing out, but the moment it connected-

Red had the weapon coiled around his left arm as he dashed forward, pulling June to him-

Taking the woman in a lovers' embrace.

...Huh?

"Wow." The Avatar commented, blinking.

"Man... Sensei hasn't changed either," The Fire Prince remarked from where he was on the ground.

'_Well... This is awkward,_' Aang thought, as he and Zuko shared a look.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

**Back to Lee/Red's point of view.**

**[Cue music; Lie to Me, by 12 Stones; Album, Anthem for the Underdog]**

She had tears in her eyes, glaring up at me. "You asshole!... Why did you just leave me?"

Leave...? What?

"June, I... I thought you were dead. I fought tooth and nail through dozens of them, trying to get to you, but- You... You weren't there. Just a mutilated corpse, burnt beyond recognition. I... Thought I had killed you..." I pulled her closer to me, fighting back tears. I didn't care anymore. All that mattered was her, the woman in my arms.

"Lee... I-" Suddenly, she was cut off.

"RAH!" ***Fwoosh!*** Eyes wide, I turned, pushing her behind me as flames danced across my hand, knocking the wild fireblast straight into the air.

Zuko was fighting Aang again, unconcerned with collateral damage, throwing uncontrolled shots that didn't even come close to tagging the airborne monk.

"Red! C'mon, let's go!" He shouted, and I noticed that Katara and Sokka were already on Appa, ready to get the hell out. He was just keeping Zuko busy, I take it.

But...

"Go." I turned, shocked, as June urged me to leave, with tears in her eyes. "Just go! They're your responsibility, so make damn sure you don't let them down, too!"

I- I don't...

"That's who you are! A protector, not a killer! Now GO, Red Death!"

I moved. I just fucking moved.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

_**Do YOU see the Mass Effect shout-out in this chapter? There is also a verrrry stealthy Skyrim reference mixed in, if you care to look for it.**_

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"So, A is for Assholes, B is for Badass, and C is for Collateral? Seems like D is either going to be Dumbass or Dangerous." -Asterus, a summary of the four different anti-daemon squads featured in the webcomic Exterminatus Now.(The assholes are all skilled, but have shitty personalities. The badasses are pretty much, you guessed it, badass. Collateral? Yeah... Pretty self-explanatory)


	5. Chapter 5

**First Arc; Making Friends with a Legend**

**Who says merc life is easy?**

My standard form of writing applies.

" " - Spoken

' ' - Thought(Usually in _italics)_

( ) - Commentary. The perspective of a lowly mercenary. Quite funny, if you've got a very dry, morbid sense of humor.(PS; Contains 80% Sarcasm, and 20% MSG)

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

_**And yes, he has one HELL of a past.**_

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

#5 Secrets

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

Even as we flew away from the monastary, I couldn't help gazing back longingly, as I watched my good friend and my lover disappear from sight. If...

If June had asked me to stay, I...

I don't know. In all likelihood, I would've gone with her, leaving Aang, Katara and Sokka on their own. After promising them that I'd do everything in my power to protect them, damnit!

Come on, what the hell is wrong with you?! Seeing a dead lover is this hard on YOU, a dead-hard mercenary? Iroh may be the closest thing to family you have, but he's still a Fire Nation General. And he's helping Zuko; the next time you cross paths, it may be the last.

And June... She's still working as a bounty hunter, but now taking contracts from the Fire Nation? She's changed a lot from back then... And I just left her behind. But she's still alive. So long as we yet breathe, we'll meet up again, someday. Kami, I miss her...

Stop. Focus. Think of nothing but-

"You're a firebender!" An enraged shout from Katara brought me back to reality.

"Huh? What?" I was still out of it.

Sokka joined in. "You're one of those murdering bastards that've been hunting us!"

_'Am I? I... Don't know anymore.'_

"He's a spy! We never should've let him come with us!" Katara was on her feet, flicking the cork out of her waterskin...

"WAIT!" Aang shouted, hopping off of Appa's head. "What are you talking about? If he was a spy, wouldn't he have helped them back there?"

Logic worked this time, but she was still giving me the evil eye. "Fine. But I don't trust him..."

"Why didn't you tell us you were a firebender? That could've helped a lot earlier!" The Water Tribe boy exclaimed, still looking annoyed.

Starting to regain control of my emotions, I gave him a hard glare, pointing at Katara. "THAT right there, is why. I'm hated enough just for being a former soldier, by people on both sides of the war. Hunted by the Fire Nation as a traitor, hated by the Earth Kingdom for being one of Iroh's officers, and the Water Tribe would still hold me accountable for Elena's death! It doesn't matter if you're apart of the army or not, if you can bend fire, then you would be executed on sight by both countries, while the Fire Nation would force you into their military. I _don't_ advertise it."

He didn't let up. "But you still could've-"

"Come on guys, let him be. We can talk about this later, after we've all had something to eat, right?" Aang mediated once more, and the other two fell into silence, both still giving me wary and hateful looks from out of the corners of their eyes.

*Sigh*

I'm just... Tired. Of this, of everything.

Why can't things just go back to the way they were, before I got reassigned back to the frontlines...

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

**In another place, in a time long past...**

_Flashback no jutsu!_

_...The fuck's a jutsu?_

_"C'mon Sensei, I'm ready for the next set!" The Prince whined, practically begging his teacher._

_I merely rolled my eyes, effortlessly dumping the boy on his ass. "The hell you are. On your feet, twenty hot-squats."_

_Zuko scowled as he got back up. "All you've been having me do is exercise lately! Am I supposed to kick the enemy to death, or firebend?"_

_I calmly gibsmacked him. "Ow!"_

_"You're exercising to improve your cardiovascular fitness; essentially, increasing your stamina, to the point where bending will no longer feel as exhausting on your body. That way, you can bend for longer than five minutes." I explained, as he started on the exercise._

_...Not that my explanation really calmed his hotheaded temper. "Isn't there another way to work on my cardio-whatever it's called?"_

_I sighed, palming my face. Yeah, he's gonna be a pain in my ass today, alright..._

_Then, a thought struck me, as I grinned a rather cruel, evil, practically malicious grin. "Why yes, there is..."_

_**Ten minutes later...**_

_"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Zuko ran for his life, screaming at the top of his lungs, from the cerberus that was chasing after him. He was tear-assing through the palace, running like mad from the massive, flaming, three-headed hellhound that was constantly right on his heels, no matter where he went. _

_The boy was sure his instructor had gone mad. He ran hard, for more than an hour, before his lungs gave out, and collapsed to the floor, his legs feeling like molten steel. He'd barely rolled over, staring wide-eyed, as the beast pounced on him-!_

_...And began excitedly licking his face._

_*Click!* _

_"One hour, twenty-six minutes. Not bad, I half-expected you to drop after the first thirty." Zuko looked up, and found Red standing over him with a small abacas and a mirthful smirk, Uncle Iroh just next to him._

_Uncle turned to the younger man. "You see? I told you he'd do well." The General then held out a hand..._

_Lieutenant Lee sighed, and fished around in his pocket, pulling out a gold coin, and handed it to Uncle._

_..._

_Zuko jumped up, angry as hell. "You-! You-! YOU WERE BETTING ON HOW LONG I COULD OUTRUN THAT MONSTER?!" The cerberus ducked its head and whined, looking hurt. _

_"Aw, how could you, Zuko? Now you've gone and hurt Fluffy's feelings."_

_The Prince blinked. "...Fluffy?"_

_Suddenly, he was pounced on again. "Wah!"_

_Red chuckled. "Alright, that's enough, Fluffy. C'mere, boy." The beast hopped off of the prince, and obediently sat at his master's feet. "Good boy, here's your reward." The big man procured a satchel of some sort, opening it and letting the three-headed dog chow down on its contents._

_"You see? I told you, General, this is the most effective way to test them. Seriously, you get to see just how well they react under stress, how far they can go when running on adrenaline, and whether or not they possess the survival instinct. Plus you find out if they actually do fear being eaten alive!" Red beamed, as uncle Iroh quirked an eyebrow._

_"And I suppose getting a few good laughs is just a bonus?" _

_Lee's grin was his only response. _

_**Some days later...**_

_"Come on, Zuko, you've got to work harder than that." I taunted, evading each stroke he tried with practiced ease._

_He glared at me. "You should try saying that, when you're fighting someone twice your height!" _

_I laughed, loud and hearty. "I have, boy! Multiple times!" ...And conveniently stepped out of the way of his next charge, planting my boot on his ass in the same movement._

_He went sprawling, of course. "Agh! Why are you allowed to torture me like this?! Any other instrucvtor would've been fired or executed by now!"_

_I merely raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then they weren't pressing hard enough. Have you noticed, that you're actually getting better?" The boy blinked. _

_"I am?" _

_Now I really had to laugh. "Yes! Before, you'd be on the ground and crying within the first five minutes, but now you're holding your own for the most part. Now get back up, we aren't finished until you actually hit me." _

_He grinned. "Alright!"_

_Heheh, gotta know when to praise 'em, too. He has improved, mind you, but nowhere near as much as I'd like. He needs an even hand, with both encouragement and a swift kick in the ass to keep him motivated. Otherwise, he gets complacent, and tends to forget what I've taught him, the brat._

_I blocked and parried his next two blows, managing to poke him in the gut at the same time._

_"Oof! ARGH!" He charged again, as I-_

_"Oh, hello, boys!" Hm? I glanced to my left, and saw-_

_Well, hel-lo! Nao was back, dropping off her daughter, Mei. Or was it Mai? I could never remember the brat's name. Anyway, she was wearing her traditional robes, y'know, the ones that leave quite a bit of her lovely, long, curvy legs on displ-_

_*__**WHAPK!**__*_

_I was suddenly clocked upside the head, and blinked hard as I felt something warm trickling down my cheek._

_Duhh, what just happened? _

_Duhh, you just got whacked, yo._

_Oh. Right. Well, then._

_"Ow." I turned, and found Zuko standing there, looking abso-fucking-lutely shocked. He'd dropped the wooden practice sword and was slowly backing away, his eyes betraying a slight hint of fear._

_"Uh... Gotta go! Bye!" He turned and hauled ass out of the courtyard, running flat-out into the palace_

_Well, then._

_I reached up, touching the spot where he'd got me. Hm. Slight headache, a small gash on the side of my head, and I had a fair bit of blood rolling down the side of my face. _

_Lovely. Just, lovely._

_"Ah, oh my! Are you alright, Lee?" Nao hurried over, concern creasing her beautiful features. _

_I shrugged. "Eh, doesn't even itch." _

_The little brat hanging onto this gorgeous woman's hand then sniped, "Then why are you swaying on your feet?" Hey! Children are to be seen, not heard._

_..._

_Wait. "I am?" I glanced down, and found that I was, indeed, slightly swaying. "I, ah, think he got me better than I first thought. Hm. I'm going to have to start teaching him the next set, now, I suppose... Should also tell him I'm not angry, before he gets too far ahead." I was about to start off, when Nao gave me a pleading look._

_"Oh, but please go and have your injury looked at first. Would you?" Ah, damn..._

_I couldn't help smiling. "I suppose I cannot refuse you, my lady. Thank you for your concern." I bowed deeply, just as she replied, _

_"I am only returning the concern you have shown me over the years, Lieutenant. Do take care of yourself, Salamander." _

_Even as I walked away, stepping inside, I just barely caught the conversation Nao had with her daughter._

_"That wasn't my fault, was it?"_

_The little girl's deadpan reply was, "No, he's just an idiot. A lovestruck one with a boner."_

_"Mai!"_

_I could see her looking up with her 'what?' expression. "What? It's true. Anytime you're around, he doesn't pay attention to anything but you. And should you be going all googly-eyed over a soldier, mom?"_

_"Now that is no way to talk to your mother, young lady."_

_Mai was obviously rolling her eyes. "Spare me, I know all about your shared baths with him. Why do you like him so much, anyway? With that thing in his pants, he looks like he's got a third le-"_

_"MAI!"_

_...Heheheheh, kids._

_END FLASHBACK/DREAM_

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

I woke with a start, as Appa landed. Blinking back grogginess, I forced myself up, suppressing a yawn. Hm...?

It was a clearing, in the middle of a forest somewhere, I think. Sokka and Katara both climbed down off the bison's back, the girl giving me a not-so-subtle glare as she went.

Great. Well, whatever.

I hopped off the saddle, focusing on keeping my temper in check and setting up camp. Gotta keep things moving, you can reminisce about the golden age when you've got time for it.

I dropped my pack and bedroll a short distance from the others, and moved towards a nearby tree that was looking more than a little dry. With a quick one-two slash, I hacked off a few of the lower limbs, chopping them into smaller pieces before bringing them over to the center of camp.

Once I had them in place and shifted a few nearby stones to make a circle, I snapped my fingers, focusing my energy into a small, fierce flame on the tip of my thumb. I was no longer concerned about the others seeing this, anyway. I had a campfire going soon enough, and was debating what I should cook.

Something engaging, to keep my hands and mind occupied. Hm.

I grabbed my pack and started going through it, pulling out my cauldron and fold-away cooking utinsils. Set up the spit, place the rods, hang the pot.

Add a bit of water, some broth, a few bits of dried meat, spices... This will do quite nicely. Some dried and baked potatoes, sliced up thin, then a diced onion and what's left of my stash of bread, aaaand!

Alright, a pretty decent meal. Wonder... I've still got that egg, don't I?

While the stew was cooking, I pulled out that platypus-bear egg, finding it still intact. Alright, now to get this going. Hm. going to need to do something a little more involved than leave it over a fire.

I whipped out my favorite skillet,(Deep-dish, and pretty decent-sized) added a dollop of oil and stirred the pan, letting the liquid thin out and cover the entire surface. Then...

Setting it down, I cracked the egg, making sure not to waste any of the precious protein, before tossing the eggshells and working my magic.

Apply even heat through firebending with my left hand, and whisk the egg carefully with my right. Now for my secret ingredient... I quickly, stealthily reached into my pack, pulling out a wax-paper parcel, deftly opening it and pulling out four cubes of cheese, dropping them into the egg mix, then returning the parcel to my pack. Once the concoction was a nice, even yellow color, I focused pure energy through my right hand, searing the bottom of the frying pan.

Keep it steady, heat all areas proportionally... Aaaand, flip!

The giant omelet soared, before landing perfectly in the pan, and I continued to work it over, cooking the stuff as well as I could. Keep it tight, keep it hot, but don't over-cook it. No one likes burnt eggs.

It was going quite well; I had it perfectly made, and so set the skillet right on the stone firecircle, knowing that the skillet's heat would cook the egg the rest of the way as I turned back to the stew, stirring it and adding a few more choice spices.

I now had a damned fine dinner made, and I just then felt a chill run down my neck... Glancing around, I saw the others staring at me, wide-eyed.

"...What?"

Sokka was drooling. "So hungry... Smells... So good..." Katara just rolled her eyes.

"You aren't winning me over with a meal. It's probably poisoned anyway..."

Time for me to roll my eyes. "Then you can make yourself something, princess." I deadpanned, turning back to the food. Eh, not gonna let her get me too riled up. I've got better things to do than torch some backwater eskimo.

While Sokka kept his distance, Aang dropped down next to me.

"Mm! Smells great!" Well, points for effort, kid.

I scraped out a generous portion of the freshly-made omelet, dropping it into one of the bowls I'd brought along, accompanied by a lovely invention I like to call a spork.

He had started chowing down as I got my own and began eating, leaving the rest for the others to get when they felt hungry enough.

...Didn't take long. Less than a minute later, and the Water Tribe boy was seated across from us, scarfing down more food than you'd think possible for someone so scrawny. Eh.

Wait. I thought Aang was a vegetarian... Ah, well. It's not meat from a dead animal, so I suppose I'll leave well enough alone.

Some eight minutes passed, before Katara huffed and plopped down, ladling out some of the stew.

...Even she had to admit that I'm a damn good cook.

As she gave the bowl a dubious stare, I rolled my eyes, grabbing myself a serving of it the moment I'd finished the egg I got for myself and chowed down. Kinda hard to poison others when you're eating from the same pot, ya?

Ah, well.

We finished eating in silence, but before long, Aang asked, "Say Red, could you show me anything about firebending?"

I. Fucking. Knew it.

Suppressing a sigh, I got to my feet. "Very well..."

Not very hungry, anyway.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

"What is it you wish to know?"

He looked just a little out of sorts, but kept his voice even. "I want you to teach me how to firebend."

Another prospective student, huh? Well, I never wanted to be a teacher in the first place... Not that I had much choice.

"Hmph... Very well." But I suppose teaching the Avatar is better than some ingrateful Prince. "You remember what I told you before, I hope."

He nodded. "That the key to firebending is passion, and control over my emotions."

"Very good. To start... I suppose we'll have to make this quick." I moved over to one of the nearby trees, plucking a single leaf from the lowest branch. Handing it to the Avatar, I stated, "Hold it in both hands, and keep the flame from reaching the edges for as long as possible."

Then, with a slight burst of chi, I touched a flame to the center of the leaf, and waited.

Normally, it would take up to eight seconds for it to burn completely... A master can keep the flame at bay almost indefinately, for days or even weeks at a time. A novice can keep it burning for roughly five minutes.

This is a good measure for how skilled a bender is, and is essentially how one would rate each student's skill level.

I carefully watched, as Aang struggled to contain the flame, beads of sweat forming on his shiny, bald head. Even as I ticked off the seconds, I noted that he was doing better than Zuko had, when I gave him this test.

Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty.

One minute...

One-twenty...

Hm. Not bad.

"Ah, owch!" He dropped it, at the minute-fifty mark.

I nodded, impressed. "Not bad, for a beginner. Alright... Power in firebending comes from the breath; from now until I say otherwise, you are to focus on breathing exercises. Inhale through your nose and fill your lungs to capacity, then exhale through the mouth."

He gave me an odd look. "You want me to train by... Breathing?"

"Yes. Once breathing like that becomes natural, firebending will be much easier for you, as your body will consistently have more oxygen in your blood. Unlike the other elements, fire places a greater strain on the bender's body, as it draws all of its power straight from the user's chi. Firebenders must have greater stamina and cardiovascular fitness just to fight for more than a few minutes. Thus, the breathing exercises to prevent a firebender from fainting due to lack of oxygen, or to hyperventilation." I explained, listing off the different points General Iroh had explained to me, years back.

He said only one word; "Huh."

...

That's it? Wow.

"...No other questions?"

His head tilted as he asked the number one question every student ever asks; "How long will it be until I'm throwing fireballs around?"

Right. Still a kid. I sighed, and decided to put the fear of Kami in him... "Right now, if you truly wish to try."

He blinked. "Really? How?"

"As I said, fire is controlled by emotions. The easiest one to firebend with is anger, for its sheer, raw power, though it is the crudest method, and most difficult to control. As an airbender... Euphoria. Remember the happiest moments of your life, and draw strength from them. Use that power to fuel your chi, and focus all of it into your release point, before letting it go." Heh, THIS should be good.

He nodded eagerly, taking a breath and calming himself, meditating for a moment...

Then he stepped forward, punching the air-

*Fwoosh!* And throwing a good-sized fireball straight out, twenty feet.

"I did it!" He beamed, grinning like mad, before repeating the strike.

I'd give him eight minutes before he collapses.

**Twelve minutes later...**

Aang collapsed to the ground panting, exhausted. Well, he proved me wrong. "Very good, you did better than I'd expected."

"Is it... Always... This... Hard?" Heh, that's what Nao said the last time I-

WHOOPS! Better not go there, heheh. I smiled involuntarily. "Yes, until you've mastered breathing it will be this difficult. If you practice like this and build up your stamina the hard way, you will achieve the same end result, but it will take far longer. However... By combining both, you may be able to master firebending even quicker."

The Avatar stood, grinning, a determined look on his face. "Alright!"

Heh, good kid. "But, before we get ahead of ourselves... Before I teach you anything more, I have a question for you."

"Huh? Uh, what is it?" Head tilted, he gave me an oddball look.

"What is fire?" Simple question... Complicated answer.

He blinked, eyes glazing as he thought my question over. "Uh... Energy?"

Hm. Not bad.

"Close. Technically correct, but not the answer I'm looking for. Here's your hint; fire needs air, fuel, and a spark to live. Alright, here's a better way to put it; what does fire represent?" Much easier question.

"Hmm... Uhm, consumption? Or destruction?" He ventured, brow quirked.

Again, no. I shook my head. "No, but that is the obvious answer. Some of the more cynical firebending masters would tell you as much, and it is true, to an extent, but there is something else that fire represents perfectly. Think hard, Aang; it's remarkably simple, after you realise it."

Several minutes passed, as he thought on that...

Before his eyes widened. "Life... Fire is life."

Nothing could hold back the smile of pure admiration that crossed my features. It had taken me three months to figure that one out; Aang got it in under half an hour. "Now you see... Each and every flame is a life in and of itself. Left unchecked, it will consume everything around it, as is its nature. But, with enough self-control, fire is one of your greatest allies. It thrives on all positive emotions, and is quelled by negative ones; depression, sorrow, and anxiety will all hinder the flame's inherent power, while exhilaration, euphoria, passion, and anger are all fuel for the flames.

As I previously said, anger possesses the greatest raw power of all emotions, and is easiest to get started with, due to its chaotic nature. But, it is the most difficult to control, so unless you first master your own emotions, utilizing your anger as the drive for your fire is as mistake. It will overpower you, and destroy everything you hold dear. And as my master once said; anger should be your catalyst, but never the reason you fight. Use it, but do not let it control you. Do you understand?"

Aang nodded numbly; I take it he understands what anger can do to a bender... And judging from the guilty look he sent Katara's way, he must have come close to hurting or killing her because of it.

Hm. "But it is not all negative. Fire is very versatile, and can fight for you on its own. All of life's creations fear fire on some level, including people. Remember that, as merely the threat of using fire will pacify many opponents. So, in a nutshell, keep practicing, but be aware of your surroundings, and keep your distance from the others when you do. Got it?" He nodded brightly. "Alright, then. It's getting late, so we'll work on perfecting your form tomorrow."

And so we returned to camp, the Avatar practically bouncing with enthusiasm.

...Wish I had that much energy to spare, these days.

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

That night...

I had a different dream from the usual nightmare. This time, it was a pleasant one.

_**Dreamworld...**_

_"Hah...Huuh... Is it... Always... This... Hard?" Nao moaned, looking back at me over her shoulder, as I bent down and placed a tender kiss upon her lips._

_"Only when you make me wait for so long, my lady..."_

_Oh, HELL yes!_

_**~~Badadumdunbum~~**_

_**Heh, not bad for two hours' work. Last chapter for awhile, guys. Sorry about that.**_


End file.
